This article examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the employment of migrant workers in China. Our research has estimated that nationally, at least 30-50 million migrants lost their jobs in late March, far more than the local urban workers. An online survey also indicates that the rural-hukou population have borne the brunt of the outbreak. More than 90% ruralhukou migrant workers could not find work as of late February, compared to 42% for urban-hukou migrant workers. Those who are less educated and low skilled had also a higher rate of unemployment. At the same time, there is a serious mismatch between workers covered by the social safety net and those who really need it. Both across the Chinese population at large and within the migrant population itself, the pandemic has exacerbated the preexisting inequalities along the household registration system line. We call for a more substantive reform of the system so that migrant workers can be integrated into the national social safety net and be protected in the next crisis.

Rural migrant workers and their families will decide the future of China’s urbanization. Using data from the “China Migrants Dynamic Survey and Hundreds of Villages Investigation” carried out in 2018, we examine whether and how family living arrangements and migration distances shape rural migrant workers’ settlement intentions in urban areas. In general, rural migrant workers’ settlement intention is shown to be weak. However, individuals with children are more likely to have a stronger intention to settle permanently in urban areas. Among geographical factors, geospatial distance exerts a negative influence on migrant parents’ settlement intention when the interaction effect of family living arrangements and migration distances is considered. Migrant families are increasingly concentrated in cities near their hometowns with a low entry barrier that allows them to gain access to better amenities. Socio-economic factors, especially disposable income, human resources, and housing conditions, play significant roles in migrant parents’ settlement intention. The age and hometown region of migrant parents are also closely related to their intentions to settle in urban areas. Potential channels for the management of urbanization policy are also explored.