SHANGHAI - Even a huge jump in salaries cannot secure a housekeeper during the Spring Festival, the most important holiday in China for family reunion.

The house service industry in major cities is reporting that the annual nanny shortage before the Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb 3 this year, has begun.

Hua Xin, general manager of Shanghai Sheng Hua Home Service Agency, said that since November, the company has been receiving thousands of calls from people looking for housemaids.

"At least three clients are competing for one nanny, while at other times, each family is offered up to five choices," said Hua.

Although clients have agreed to raise the salary for housekeepers, the demand is still too great, Hua said.

Usually one month before the Spring Festival, rural women who work as housekeepers in cities would begin to pack and return home to prepare for family reunions.

"There are fewer experienced and easy-going housemaids available for my clients to choose," he said.

Li Yan, a Shanghai resident, is desperate to find a nanny to take care of her 2-month-old girl as she has to return to work in two weeks.

"I have been looking for a nanny for more than a month. But it is too hard to find an appropriate one, because the home service agency could not even give me some candidates to choose," Li said.

In the Pearl River Delta region, the shortage of housemaids started in early December, the Guangzhou Home Service Association said.

Li Xiaokang, marketing manager at a house service company in Tianhe district of Guangzhou, said the number of calls for housekeepers has been increasing by 20 to 30 percent daily.

In Zhongshan, a city in Guangdong province, house service companies estimate there is a shortage of 10,000 housekeepers, local newspaper reported.

The shortage happens every year, but the industry has not found a solution.

Mo Xiaoying, secretary-general of the Guangzhou Home Service Association, said the house service industry is special.

"In this industry, it is those who work as housekeepers that enjoy comparatively more liberty," Mo said. "They have a say in choosing employers, and they can decide how long they want to work for them."

So while millions travel just before the Spring Festival for home, most housekeepers prefer leaving the cities early to avoid the peak, and make early preparations for the holiday, Mo said.

Yang Huiqin, a housemaid working in Changning district of Shanghai, said she has decided to return to Anhui province in mid-January to prepare for the festival and for her daughter's wedding.

"My employer has tried to persuade me to stay here longer, promising to raise my salary by 20 percent, but I just can't stay," she said, adding she has bought a train ticket.

Mo said the shortage may probably ease in late February.

China Daily