Spatiotemporal Differences and Dynamic Evolution of Labour Factor Adaptability to the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: A Case Study of Guangdong Province, China

Based on panel data of various manufacturing industry segments in Guangdong Province from 2000 to 2020, the spatiotemporal differences and evolution trends of labour factors adaptability to the advanced manufacturing structure are empirically analysed through the adaptation measurement function, Dagum Gini decomposition coefficient and Gaussian kernel density function. The results show that the trend of the advanced manufacturing industry structure in various regions of Guangdong Province is obvious, the degree of adaptability of labour factors to the advanced industrial structure is lower, and the spatial differences in adaptability within and between regions show a dominant trend and are the main contributors to the spatiotemporal differences. In addition to the decrease in the spatiotemporal difference and the enhancement of regional convergence of the adaptation values in West Kwongtung, the spatiotemporal difference of the adaptation values in other regions is expanding, which is not conducive to the high-quality collaborative development of the manufacturing industry. Therefore, we should pay attention to the connection between the supply and demand of skilled labour training, improve the adaptation level of labour force elements and industrial structure, and promote the advanced and collaborative development of the manufacturing industry in Guangdong Province.