BEIJING — China's exports fell at their fastest rate in a decade as the government said today the country's trade slump worsened again in December — a decline that's led to masses of layoffs and growing fears of social unrest.

Analysts and companies expect the pain to get worse.

The global plunge in demand for Chinese goods has forced thousands of Chinese factories to close and freshly unemployed migrants to stream from coastal manufacturing regions back to their rural hometowns. Labor protests have occurred in some areas. The government is pressing companies to avoid more job cuts.

December exports fell 2.8 percent from the same month a year earlier, on top of a 2.2 percent decline in November, the Chinese customs agency said. It was the biggest decline in a decade, according to economists. By contrast, at the start of 2008, January's export growth rate was 26.7 percent.

Things are likely to get worse because exporters have yet to feel the full impact of the drop in demand due to the lag time between orders and shipments, said Sherman Chan, an analyst for Moody's Economy.com.