Though notebook shipments languished over the summer, manufacturers still have the holiday buying season to look forward to. Now, it appears that a labor shortage in China could restrict notebook shipments even further.

DigiTimes is reporting that China is currently experiencing a labor shortage, and that this shortage could lower predicted shipments for the month. The report’s unnamed “sources from the upstream supply chain” stated that the shortage has already caused manufacturers to reduce their predicted shipments in September to around 85% of their total. The production gap for October could, according to DigiTimes, be even wider.

The shortage stems from China’s National Day Golden Week, which celebrates the founding of the modern Chinese government. The one-week holiday was held last week. The holiday is often an occasion for workers to visit to their hometowns, but, as the DigiTimes report states, many workers leave and never return to their manufacturing jobs.

According to the report, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to ship their orders. As September yields fell short, the numbers were pushed back into October shipments. This has created even greater shortages for expected notebook shipments.

Though notebook shipments are still expected to rise month-over-month during the holiday season, overall sales of the devices are expected to be down year-over-year. Even Apple’s MacBook shipments are predicted to drop in 2013 as its iPad tablet and iPhone smartphone sales continue to grow along with those market segments.

(Image courtesy Foxconn)