Between State and Market: Hukou, Nonstandard Employment, and Bad Jobs in Urban China

Abstract China’s household registration system (hukou) has long divided urban and rural populations—economically, socially, and spatially. Economic reforms since the late-1970s, however, have led to increased opportunities for rural migrants in urban labor markets. But how are rural migrants being incorporated into urban employment? Drawing on Tilly’s relational inequality perspective, this article examines the relationship between hukou and job quality—paying particular attention to (1) nonstandard employment and (2) ownership sector. Compared to urban hukou workers, we find that rural hukou holders are more likely to be sorted into jobs with nonstandard employment relations—jobs with fewer benefits. Hence, a significant portion of the urban-rural gap in job quality is attributed to categorically linked sorting into nonstandard employment net of human capital. Further analyses reveal significant differences between sectors. These results highlight the durable and enduring nature of hukou as a significant basis of stratification in contemporary urban China.