To stay or to go out again -- Chinese migrant workers strive for a living back home

The Chinese government announced earlier this month that as many as 20 million migrant workers nationwide returned to their homes without prospects for future jobs. The future of these migrant workers has now become the focus of the public and the government.

According to statistics of the labor bureaus of some counties in Chongqing, more migrant workers returned home for this Lunar New Year holiday than last year. In some villages and townships, more than 80 percent of migrant workers returned home, compared to only30 to 40 percent in previous years.

Chongqing is a major labor force region in China, with more than3 million migrant workers earning their livings outside the province every year. The government of Chongqing estimated that about 1 million migrant workers would stay at home as they couldn't find jobs in China's coastal areas.

To go out again, or to stay at home, is the burning question for the migrant workers, as Guangdong provincial government announced earlier that the demand for labor forces in the first quarter this year would decrease as much as 5 percent compared to last quarter.

Guangdong is the largest labor force importer in China. It absorbed 55 percent of the total migrant workers last year. Besides Guangdong, other economically-developed provinces, such aseast China's Zhejiang and Jiangsu, are all suffering slumps of demand for labor forces now.

Most of the under-30 migrant workers said they had two strings to their bows -- seeking jobs in hometowns firstly, or going out again.

In some villages, migrant workers' incomes account for more than half of the total household income. Compared to their fellow villagers, they have much higher expectations for their salaries and their future.

"There is little future in the countryside," Zheng said. "Moreover, I am accustomed to living in cities. Country life is tedious."