Labor migration from and within Asia is a key component of international migration flows, underlined over several years during the annual Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Most of Asia’s labor migration occurs within the region or in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and mainly comprises lesser-skilled labor. However, Asian migrants remain an essential element of labor markets in Europe, North America, and the Pacific island countries, and contribute significantly to the most-skilled categories thereof. This report summarizes the main trends in migration from and within Asia. The first section provides a discussion of labor migration flows to Asian and Middle East countries. This is followed by a description of flows from Asia to OECD countries. International students—for which Asia is the fastest-growing region of origin—are then discussed, followed by the key characteristics of Asian migrants to OECD countries in terms of skill level and labor market outcomes. Finally, an overview of trends in remittances is provided.
URL : http://www.oecd.org/migration/building-human-capital.pdf