The employability and welfare of female labor migrants in Indonesian cities

The aim of the study, first, is to examine which factors are important to explain the employment status of female labour migrants in the cities in Indonesia. The second aim is to examine the welfare of female labour migrants measured by their earnings to occupation and poverty status in the cities. This study takes advantage of a data source of Rural Urban Migration of Indonesia and China (RUMiCI) of 2011 conducted by Australian National University (ANU) focusing on four Indonesian cities, including Tangerang, Samarinda, Medan, and Makassar. The study concludes that female migrants survive in the cities in terms of their employability and welfare. Although there is no significant difference in terms of their occupation status compared to female non-migrants, female life-time migrants mostly receive higher earnings and less likely to be living under poverty. Education is an important predictor for employability and welfare of female migrants.