A Study on the Change in Occupational Structure of China’s Ethnic Minorities

ZHENG Changde

Abstract：

The occupational structure of the employed population and its changes reflect the level of economic development and the change of social status of a population group. Based on census data， this paper analyzes the occupational structure of the employed population of Chinas ethnic minorities. It shows that：

1） Among the employed population of the ethnic minorities（excepting those people who are engaged in forestry， animal husbandry and fishery， etc.， a proportion which is higher than the overall population or the Han）， the proportion is lower than in either the overall population or the Han population.

2） The gender differences and directional change of the occupational structure of the employed population indicates that the status of women was gradually promoted during the period 1990 to 2010.

3） Seen from the proportion of those engaged in mental labor versus physical labor； the proportion ethnic minorities engaged in mental labor is low.

4） The degree of diversity in the occupational structure of the ethnic minorities has made some improvement.

5） The ethnic differences in occupational structure are obvious.

6） The urbanization level and the educational level of the population are the key factors which determine the occupational structure of the employed population.

From this study， we feel that the degree of social exclusion of the ethnic minorities has gone up during the past ten years. This “going up” has lead or is leading to social problems. Hence， it is necessary to pay high attention to this issue. Regarding this， the author thinks that， firstly， support to ethnic minority education should be enhanced； secondly， the proportion of ethnic minority people in civil servant recruitment should be improved； thirdly， the proportion of the employment of ethnic minority workers in projects in ethnic minority regions should be stipulated.

Keywords：ethnic minority population； demographic census； occupational structure

References：

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Zheng Changde. zhongguo shaoshu minzu chengzhenhua wenti yanjiu （A Study on Chinas Ethnic Minorities Urbanization）[R]. Working Paper in 2013.