The Economic Situation of Rural Migrant Workers in China

This paper examines the current economic situation of rural migrant workers in China. The paper provides some descriptive statistics on their regions of origin, their destinations, and the sectors in which they are employed, as well as on their age, sex and level of education. The paper also discusses the difficult working conditions of many rural migrant workers in the Chinese labour market, in particular their low wages, the problems of wage arrears, the lack of written contracts, the long working hours, the inadequate social security coverage, and the difficulties they face in accessing public services.