(Yicai) May 9 -- China’s migrant workers are getting noticeably older, with nearly a third now over 50 years' old, as the country’s population ages in general and as many of the younger generation choose different career paths, according to a recent report.

There are now around 100 million migrant workers who are more than 50 years' old, accounting for 31.6 percent of the workforce, according to the 2024 Migrant Workers Monitoring and Survey Report recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics. This is a notable jump from 17.9 percent in 2015.

There were 299.73 million migrant workers in China last year, a surge of 33 percent from 2008, which is when China first started tracking migrant worker data, according to the survey. But they are getting older, with the average age now 43 years and two months old, from 34 some 16 years ago. Only 43.7 percent of migrant workers are now aged under 40, from 70 percent in 2008.

In terms of their distribution, more than half are employed in China’s economically developed eastern regions at 154 million. The majority now work in the service sector at 54.6 percent, while 44.7 percent are engaged in secondary industries such as manufacturing and construction.

Their average wage is around CNY4,961 (USD684) a month, a gain of 3.8 percent from the year before. Those who work outside of their home provinces earn more than their local counterparts.

The aging trend is due to two main reasons, experts said. First, China’s population as a whole is getting older. And second, as urbanization advances and rural education improves, many migrant workers’ children are opting to take different career paths. As a result, the average age in this group keeps climbing.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security identified a number of challenges facing migrant workers in November last year. These included slowing population growth, an aging workforce, job market pressures and gaps in social security benefits and fair wage protection.

In response, the government proposed introducing targeted measures such as boosting job opportunities, enhancing human resource development, supporting older workers and promoting rural revitalization.

Editor: Kim Taylor