The Epoch Times reports that China is experiencing an unusually early wave of migrant workers returning to their hometowns – months before the Lunar New Year – reflecting widespread job losses and a deepening economic downturn. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has urgently instructed local governments to prevent a “large-scale return to poverty” and to ensure that those previously lifted out of poverty do not become stranded in rural areas without income. Analysts say this early mobilization underscores the authorities’ awareness of the severity of the unemployment crisis facing China’s nearly 300 million migrant workers.
Experts argue that the problem is rooted in long-standing structural issues: migrant workers were never granted full urban residency rights or social benefits, while rural economies remain chronically depleted. With limited job opportunities in both cities and the countryside, official initiatives are widely viewed as superficial and incapable of addressing the underlying causes.
Some analysts warn that a mass return to poverty among migrant workers could pose a significant political risk. Today’s migrant laborers are more skilled, more informed, and more conscious of systemic injustice; in moments of extreme desperation, they may organize resistance—potentially threatening the stability of the communist regime.
Source: Epoch Times, November 20, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/11/18/n14638607.htm