Editor’s note: This column is part of an ongoing series that explores China's demographic challenges. In parts one , two and three , we examined China’s retirement, pension and financial systems, as optimizing those systems will likely prove critical to the country’s ability to navigate its middle-income transition and overcome its demographic decline. But another critical facet is labor, which is the focus of the fourth part of this series. China’s shrinking and aging population amid its middle-income transition represents an acute problem in its labor force, which is rapidly changing alongside the country’s demographic makeup. Recent college graduates are finding fewer opportunities suited to their education, and the country’s workforce broadly lacks the skills to make the jump to value-added manufacturing.