The Informalization of the Chinese Labor Market.

Book section

Drawing upon multiple data sources, we document a rapid, unprecedented rise in informal employment in urban China since the mid-1990s. By 2005, 10 percent of urban workers were registered as self-employed, and another 36 percent were undocumented, neither reported by employers nor self-registered. We provide evidence that many of these “missing” workers were likely to be employed in the private sector and in the service sector. Most migrant workers are employed informally, but a significant number of urban permanent residents are also employed informally. Increasing informal employment expands work opportunities but creates challenges for the provision of social insurance and worker protections.

Authors: Park, A; Cai, F

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Host title: From Iron Rice Bowl to Informalization: Markets, State and Workers in a Changing China
• Place of publication: Ithaca
• Publication date: 2011-01-01
• DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9780801450242.003.0002
• Language: English