Which jobs make cities attractive to migrants? Explaining the changing distribution of migrants from their employment geography in transitional China

Zhen Liu and Shenghe Liu

Regional Studies, 2025, vol. 59, issue 1, 2417705

Abstract: While the role of regional disparities in employment opportunities has been emphasised in unbalanced migration processes, the differences in employment across various sectors have not been fully addressed. This study attempts to explain the changing distribution of migrants across Chinese cities in the last decade based on the employment structure among those migrants. We found that compared with employment opportunities, employment structure has a stronger explanatory power for changes in net migrants across cities. Specifically, the geography of manufacturing employment has significantly affected the changing distribution of migrants, alongside the burgeoning impact of employment in new industries, including high-tech manufacturing and modern service employment. In addition, the influence of employment in different sectors on the redistribution of migrants varies according to city size. Our findings highlight the importance of focusing on regional disparities in employment structure to better understand regional migration dynamics.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2024.2417705

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