In 2015, China experienced the deepest plunge in its working-age population in the country's modern history. The downward trend is getting demographers and economists anxious.

According to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the working-age population, those aged between 16 and 60 years, drastically dropped by a record 4.87 million to 911 million in 2015. This is in comparison with the 3.17 million downturn in 2014.

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The trend is consistent with the country's economic slowdown and also with the reduction of its migrant workers. The migrant population, those who usually seek jobs in other places and leave their hometowns, cutback from 5.68 million to 247 million at the end of 2015, the steepest trend the country has experienced in three decades.

Experts have warned China about its strict population control, suggesting that its one-child policy would eventually weigh on growth prospects. With the risk that the elderly population will soon outnumber the working group, China would more likely get old before it gets rich. In 2011, the working population, defined before as those between 16 and 59 years old, comprised 69.8 percent of the population. Last year, the figure dwindled at 66.3 percent.

Meanwhile, as the work force becomes scarce, it has also become more demanding -- seeking for higher compensation and more benefits. In fact, China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong advocacy organization, claims that labor protest incidents skyrocketed to almost 450 instances last December alone. Also, based on the American Chamber of Commerce's survey, more than half of the US establishments claim that the cost of labor is one of the problems they face while operating in China.

With the aim of providing a solution to the problem, China ended its one-child policy after 40 years and now allows each family to have two children. However, according to Wang Pei'an, deputy head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the dilemma of the country is not of the quantity but of the quality of workers. Experts say for most couples in the country, having a second child is expensive.

Currently, China, with 1.37 billion people, is the most populous country in the world. Based on the United Nations prediction, the Chinese population aged 65 years will jump to 243 million (85%) in 2030, up from this year's 131 million.

Tagschina, working population, second-child policy, economic slowdown