What is a migrant worker? The vast majority are rural residents who have come to cities to search for work. The Chinese is somewhat more descriptive – 农民工 – “farmer-laborer.” This is a paper I wrote in 2005 regarding a short research project on a shopping mall construction site in Shanghai, it provides a fairly basic overview, as well as trends present at that time.

Basic facts: women are primarily employed in textile factories or service industries. Male migrant workers are largely employed in basic menial labor – the more fortunate have some capacity in a trade – the fellows below are advertising electrician and plumber services. There are approximately 200 million migrants in China, with the number increasing rapidly every year (5-10 million).