Weathering a Storm: Survey-Based Perspectives on Employment in China in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis

Examines evidence from firm and household surveys on the effects of the global financial crisis on employment in China, highlighting descriptive statistics from firm surveys suggesting most of the adjustment was borne by migrant workers, and reviewing rural household survey data to examine the net effect of the crisis on employment of rural registered workers. In response to the crisis, China’s government responded with a massive stimulus program, equivalent to over 13 percent of annual gross domestic product (GDP), complemented by a range of active labor market programs, training programs, and credit support for small and medium enterprises. Lack of public availability of implementation information and important data frustrates efforts to determine the relative role of programs, stimulus, and general economic growth, but available evidence does suggest the stimulus helped expand employment outside of export sectors and that the vast majority of rural registered residents were reemployed by late 2009.