Asia’s Labor Pipeline: An Overview

Abstract

An unprecedented exodus of Asian workers has taken place to the oil-rich countries of the Middle East. In 1981 there were 2.5 million Asians working in the Middle East (not including dependents). The adverse economic effects of the oil shock have led to a labor pipeline of Asian workers to the Middle East. This book explores some of the critical issues that have arisen from the recent increase in Asian labor market: 1) the number of legal and illegal Asian migrants 2) its effect on domestic labor markets 3) how remittances are used 4) the effects of separation on families 5) womens roles in sending countries 6) acutal benefits to sending communities 7) problems of return migration 8) the adequacy of migration policies and 9) predictions of future migration. The debate continues over whether the benefits of labor migration to the middle East outweigh the costs. Difficulties in measuring the volume of labor migration include its recency the lack of information on returns and its short term and circular nature. 60-70% of the Asians in the Middle East work in construction; very few are unskilled workers. Possibly the greatest benefit to sending countries has been the massive flow of remittances which have become the top foreign exchange earner in several Asian countries. Labor migration is officially considered to be an employment creation policy by most of the sending countries; but labor shortages expecially in construction may soon develop. Noneconomic consequences of labor migration have received relatively little attention so far but the social and psychological effects on both the migrant and his family must be profound. Migration from each Asian country has its special characteristics. Almost all Korean labor migrants work for domestic companies. Pakistan has the largest percentage of its population working in the Middle East of any Asian country. Almost half of all Indian labor migrants come from Kerala State. The Philippines is now the largest supplier of Asian labor. Thailand has a very high percentage of married workers. The majority of Bangladeshi workers are unskilled. Sri Lanka is the only Asian country most of the migrants of which are female. The future of Asian labor migration is uncertain due to political instability in the Middle East the fluctuating price of oil and the continuing economic transformation of the host countries.