| Migration is one of the most important phenomena in the modern world. Due to limited access to supportive resources in their new locations, employment, a key determinant of a person's material well-being, is particularly critical for migrants. This study examines the labor force achievement of Chinese workers moving from rural to urban areas. It utilizes an ecological perspective by drawing on various migration theories, emphasizing a context-embedded, interactive, multi-level approach.;Five questions guide this employment study with regard to China's rural-to-urban migrants: (1) What are the current diverse and specific employment situations for rural migrants in China? (2) From a micro-level perspective, how does migrant employment differ by individual characteristics including education and occupation skills? (3) From a macro-level perspective, how does migrant employment differ, due to economic, political, and physical factors? (4) On the mezzo-level, what is the function of social networks in rural migrant employment? (5) Finally, what is the interaction pattern among structural influence, individual characteristics, and social networks on rural-to-urban migrant employment outcomes?;Using a stratified sampling procedure, the data for this study were collected from an anonymous survey conducted in five large cities across China. A total of 2,509 urban employed rural migrants completed the survey, and 1,835 valid list-wise cases are included in the final analysis. Accounting for the occupation's random effect, the study adopted a hierarchical approach (HLM) in modeling the mechanisms that influence migrant employment achievement.;The results provide a comprehensive understanding of the rural-to-urban migrant employment situation in China, illustrating the need for efforts to improve migrant employment condition. Recommended interventions include the establishment of a more comprehensive social security net to fully cover migrants, increasing the human capital of migrants through better education and training, improving current public support programs, providing greater support that will lead to self-employment among rural migrants, building a better social environment, and strengthening the relationships of migrants with local communities. |
