The number of China’s migrant workers is approximately 300 million, yet jobs created for relief through work cover only about 1 percent of this total.
In an effort to counteract the severe economic downturn brought about by the Great Depression, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented large-scale work-relief programs designed to offer government-supported employment opportunities to those without jobs. These initiatives aimed at boosting consumer spending and reinstating faith among households. Almost a hundred years since the inception of America’s New Deal, China is subtly incorporating a comparable strategy as part of its new drive towards growth fueled by increased consumption.
In late March, Beijing introduced an ambitious “special action plan” to
bolster domestic spending
The paper focuses on an essential factor for economic recovery: boosting household incomes to stimulate demand. It specifically mentions work-relief programs. These initiatives have significant potential to strengthen consumer confidence and warrant further examination.
The work-for-relief approach has been utilized in rural areas of China for many years, although it seldom attracts media attention. Traditionally, following natural calamities, authorities would engage local farmers in tasks such as road repairs or building water infrastructure, thereby providing short-term assistance to families alongside enduring communal advantages. After Mao’s era, Beijing embraced these work-for-relief initiatives as a crucial tactic for combating poverty across the nation.
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According to official statistics, from 1984 to 2020, more than 160 billion yuan (approximately US$22.05 billion) was allocated to rural poverty alleviation initiatives, resulting in the creation of numerous job openings. These efforts played a crucial role in enhancing economic conditions in these areas.
eliminating extreme poverty
, a significant achievement reached in 2021.
However, China’s current challenges go beyond just its rural areas. Historically, work relief programs have focused on addressing issues in the countryside, but now they must also tackle problems within China’s urban centers.
300 million migrant workers
– individuals who have abandoned their villages in pursuit of better-paying employment opportunities – deserve consideration.
Over the past twenty years, the development of real estate and infrastructure drove China’s economic progress, offering consistent jobs for migrants. However, since 2020, a decline in the property market coupled with a reduction in new building projects has resulted in millions lacking a reliable source of income.
Assessing the complete impact of their struggle is challenging. Many migrant workers often participate in casual employment.
often fall outside
Official unemployment figures do not account for those who lose their city jobs and go back to rural areas.
During his speech in 2020, President Xi Jinping stated: “When economic conditions waver, migrant laborers experience the initial impact.” He referenced the 2008 global financial downturn, during which more than 20 million people lost their jobs and returned home. Additionally, he mentioned how the pandemic led to almost 30 million individuals remaining in rural regions without employment opportunities.
Furthermore, even though China has recently enhanced its social welfare system, many migrant workers still do not have access to health care, unemployment insurance, or pension benefits provided to city residents. This leaves them vulnerable without adequate support when they lose their jobs. Consequently, this loss of income disrupts more than just their personal lives; as wages disappear, so too does their capacity for spending, gradually strangling consumer demand.
economy
desperately needs.
The action plan’s mention of work-relief programmes is the latest signal that policymakers are acknowledging this harsh reality. In recent years, the policy has gained more traction. In 2021, China invested 90 billion yuan in work-relief projects, employing 1.5 million returning migrant workers. In 2024, these jobs more than doubled to 3.32 million.
However, these efforts remain inadequate: with approximately 300 million migrant workers in China, employment generation via work relief programs only benefited about one percent of this group. Moreover, such jobs tend to be transient and centered around construction activities, thus not providing the sustained stability required by migrant laborers amid challenging economic conditions.
To enhance these programs, China might look at current global models for inspiration. For instance, in 2015, India implemented the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This legislation ensures that rural families receive up to 100 days of wage employment per year through initiatives like irrigation infrastructure development.
Since then, the initiative has supported approximately 50 million jobs annually. Backed by law, this act aims at tackling rural poverty—more than half of its beneficiaries are females—and ensures that project initiatives match local requirements, like developing water resources in dry areas.
Certainly, the program encounters difficulties, such as improper handling of resources. Nevertheless, its magnitude and enduring nature provide significant insights. China’s present work-for-relief initiatives tend to be short-lived and lack a comprehensive strategy, limiting their impact. India’s focus on legislative support and tailored implementation might encourage China to enhance its methods.
Short-term initiatives tend to lose steam rapidly. Implementing an employment protection statute might establish work-for-relief programs as a standard practice, requiring a set number of jobs be created and funded annually. Additionally, digital technologies such as mobile payments and identification verification systems could boost transparency and effectiveness, guaranteeing that aid reaches those for whom it was intended.
Addressing unemployment among migrants requires China to broaden initiatives such as work-for-relief programs. The ongoing property downturn has led to widespread job losses for these workers. A national effort—such as developing renewable energy sources including wind and solar power facilities or enhancing rural areas through tourism infrastructures—could create millions of employment opportunities each year. Priority should be given to providing these chances to less skilled migrant laborers.
Successful execution relies heavily on prompt decisions. The New Deal under Roosevelt was effective due to rapid and well-coordinated efforts; for instance, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, set up in 1933, disbursed $3.1 billion via relief programs within the following two-and-a-half-year period—this sum represented almost half of all federal spending in 1934.
China requires a comparable level of determination to surmount administrative obstacles and speed up financing. The nation finds itself at a pivotal moment in its economic development. The decline in the real estate sector has underscored the vulnerability of migrants’ living conditions, yet this situation presents an opening for new opportunities. The mention of work-for-relief in the action plan points to a longstanding mechanism with significant unutilized potential for addressing current issues.
Roosevelt turned job opportunities into symbols of optimism and financial safety; similarly, India utilized MGNREGA to ensure village stability. By boldly expanding its public works programs, China could establish a stronger employment framework and move nearer to achieving its vision of an economy fueled by consumer spending.
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The article initially appeared on the South ChinaMorning Post (www.scmp.com), which is the premier source for news coverage of China andAsia.
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