China's working population declined for the third straight year in 2014, triggering concerns that a shrinking labor pool will weigh on the country's economic growth, especially for labor-intensive industries.

The working age population, those aged 16 to 59, decreased 3.71million last year, the steepest drop since 2012when the country first sawa decline, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. The decline in 2013was 2.44million while the figure in 2012was 3.45million.

Economists are worried the record decline in China's labor force will drive up labor costs and force both domestic and foreign companies to shift their plants and factories overseas, hurting the export and manufacturing sectors, the main national growth engines.