Pacific Labor Mobility Survey 2021-2023

Previous surveys on labor migration from Pacific Island countries are often cross-sectional, not readily available, and focusing on one migration scheme, country, or issue and hence incompatible. Such limitation of existing data restricts analysis of a range of policy-relevant issues that present themselves over the migrants' life cycle such as those on migration pathways, long-term changes in household livelihood, and trajectory of migrants’ labor market outcomes, despite the significant impacts of labor migration on the economy of the Pacific Island countries. To address these shortfalls in the Pacific migration data landscape, the PLMS is designed to be longitudinal, spanning multiple labor sending and receiving countries and collecting omnibus information on both migrants, their households and non-migrant households. The survey allows for disaggregation and reliable comparative analysis both within and across countries and labor mobility schemes. This open-access and high-quality data will facilitate more research about the Pacific migration, help inform and improve Pacific migration policy deliberations, and engender broader positive change in the Pacific data ecosystem.