Labor Migration in Asia
Covid-19 Impacts, Challenges, and Policy Responses
Labor Migration in Asia: COVID-19 Impacts, Challenges, and Policy Responses analyzes
labor migration trends in Asia and puts them in the context of economic and policy
developments as well as the changes caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
It provides an overview of the labor migration trends to and from different Asian
economies and looks at policy settings in major origin and destination economies of
labor migrants. Chapter 1 reviews the recent regional trends, including evidence on
the impact of the pandemic on flows and remittances. Chapter 2 looks at the available
data on migrant job losses and COVID-19 infections, as well as policy responses to
the pandemic in the key areas of access to health, occupational safety and health,
housing, social protection, and the resumption of labor migration. Chapter 3 focuses
on the return and reintegration challenges and policy responses in the wake of the
pandemic. This report draws on the discussions that took place at the “11th ADBI-OECD-ILO
Roundtable on Labor Migration: Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic and Building Back Better,”
held virtually in April 2021. The event, co-organized by the Asian Development Bank
Institute, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International
Labour Organization, brought together regional experts and policy makers. The report
provides up-to-date comparative statistics on labor migration flows in, to, and from
Asia. Two statistical annexes offer detailed economy fact sheets and coverage of intra-Asia
and cross-regional migration flows.
Published on May 20, 2022