This report is based on the discussions at the 13th ADBI-OECD-ILO Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia: Integrating Skills Development and Certification into the Labor Migration Cycle, held on 27–28 June 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. The annual roundtable brings together labor experts and policy makers from across Asia to discuss trends in labor migration and emerging policy and issues on migrant workers. Chapter 1 analyzes labor migration flows in Asia and relevant policy developments, including a section on the flow and cost of remittances. Chapter 2 looks at the pathways for middle-skilled migration and the accompanying skills recognition or certification approaches in Singapore and Thailand, focusing on the construction sector. Chapter 3 examines programs for seasonal workers in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and how they relate to other programs for migrant workers in agriculture. The chapter also provides an overview of seasonal migrant worker options in the agriculture sector in Japan and the Republic of Korea, and Thai seasonal workers in Nordic countries. Statistical annexes provide updated economy-specific notes and comparative tables on country-level migration flows.

This report analyzes the labor migration trends in Asia and puts them in the context of economic and policy developments and the changes wrought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It examines the policy settings in the major origin and destination countries of labor migrants and the medium- and long-term factors that will shape the future of labor migration in Asia.

Labor Migration in Asia: COVID-19 Impacts, Challenges, and Policy Responses analyzes labor migration trends in Asia and puts them in the context of economic and policy developments as well as the changes caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

This report analyzes labor migration trends in Asia and puts them in the context of demographic and policy trends. It provides an overview of the population trends in different Asian countries and looks at policy settings in several sending and destination countries of labor migrants.

This report analyzes the labor migration trends in Asia and puts them in the context of economic and policy developments and the changes wrought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It examines the policy settings in the major origin and destination countries of labor migrants and the medium- and long-term factors that will shape the future of labor migration in Asia. It further provides important recommendations for building back better in a post-pandemic world.This analysis draws partly on discussions that took place at the "10th ADBI-OECD-ILO Roundtable on Labor Migration: Future of Labor Migration in Asia: Challenges and Opportunities in the Next Decade," held in Bangkok, Thailand, in February 2020, an annual event co-organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International Labour Organization that brings together regional experts and policy makers. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the publication focuses on the pandemic's impacts on labor mobility.The report offers up-to-date comparative statistics on labor migration flows, including evidence on the impacts of COVID-19 on flows and remittances. Two statistical annexes offer detailed country fact sheets and coverage of intra-Asia and cross-regional migration flows. The report also includes discussions on the future of labor migration in the aftermath of the pandemic and the role of technology and digitalization in labor mobility and its management.