Making their way in the Chinese class structure: the Job Mobility of Migrant Workers

Abstract

Chinese migrant workers constitute the backbone of the export economy, accounting for approximately 56% of the urban workforce. Yet, these workers are widely considered among the most exploited and vulnerable groups. A key issue is: Are these workers best regarded as part of an underclass or a new section of the working class. An examination of migrant worker job mobility helps answer this question: no evidence of upward job mobility would support the underclass thesis while significant job mobility would favour the working class thesis. Construction of an 11-point social class (occupational status) scale and survey data collected from over 4,000 migrants in the strong exporting Pearl River Delta region enabled answers to several questions. First, compared to local workers, a higher proportion of migrants (started their urban career at the lowest status level. However, arising from job change, a greater minority of migrant workers moved upward, even though most of the improvement was short range. Comparatively, respondentsâ income change exceeded their status change, with more than half of better off workers having increased their annual income by more than 30%. Using regression analysis, this study reveals the key factors influencing upward job mobility and changes in income, including age, hukou, educational level and employer type and size. Adopting the technique of latent class analysis, this study maps out the typical job pathways traversed by migrant workers (one-time movers and two â time movers) after arrival in the city. Overall, the most typical mobility path of one-time movers represent a steady and progressive line while that of two-time movers shows more downward-inclined mobility pattern and fluctuations. In conclusion, this study shows that although migrant workers began from a lower base compared to local urban workers, job mobility enabled status and income improvement, in effect, facilitating recruitment into the working class rather than being consigned to permanent impoverishment at the bottom of the class structure as suggested by the underclass thesis.