China's human resources minister said Tuesday labor shortage is a structural problem which mainly affects the labor-intensive manufacturing and service sectors in east coastal areas.

"On the whole, China still has labor surplus, and the shortage mainly arises from difficulties in hiring assembly line operators," said Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security.

The workforce shortage, which seems to be spreading to central and western China, is attributable to rising demand for labor as the economy is recovering, more job opportunities are offered in the fast developing central and western regions, and young rural workers have rising job expectations, said Yin.

However, the labor shortage for some firms this year are less severe than the same period last year, Yin said at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing parliamentary session.