The Actual Situation and Challenges of Rural Labor Force Migration in China : A Survey of Farmers in Village C, Henan Province

This paper investigates an actual case study of migrant labor force in C Village, Henan Province, and draws the following conclusions. 　(1) Due to the sluggish agricultural economy in Village C and limited intra-village employment opportunities, a large number of farmers have voluntarily migrated out of the village. 　(2) The face sheet of the migrant labor force can be summarized as follows:intra-regional migrant workers are mainly concentrated among those in their 30s and 40s, while those outside the region are characterized by young workers in their 20s; 　In addition, the migrant labor force in Village C is mainly composed of primary and middle school graduates, with only a few having technical school or high school educations or higher. Therefore, the overall level of education in rural Henan is low, and it is considered necessary to improve educational institutions in rural areas and related infrastructure. 　(3) The migrant labor force in the province is mainly engaged in short-term employment or in the construction industry in areas within and outside the province, where the distance is close. One of the reasons for this can be attributed to dual employment with agricultural operations. In addition, out-of-province migrant workers are mainly moving to coastal and central cities that are quite far from their place of origin. As for out-of -province migration, the concept of distance between the place of origin and the destination of migration is weak, indicating that migration to coastal and central cities in search of higher wages is the main source of migration. 　(4) The average annual income of all surveyed workers was found to be slightly lower than that of the national and provincial average. 　(5) The duration of service of migrant workers outside the region is considerably longer than that of migrant workers within the province. 　(6) Employment of the migrant labor force is mainly concentrated in temporary and short-term employment. In addition, the overall number of rural labor force members who are privately owned or regularly employed is seen as quite small. The employment routes of the migrant labor force consist of introductions by acquaintances, family members, online information, and the local labor market, and in both the intra-provincial and extra-provincial regions, there is a tendency for the migrant labor force to be introduced by acquaintances, family members, or rural labor force members with migrant experience, indicating that rural labor force members depend on acquaintances and blood relations for their migrant employment.