This article uses new data to analyze whether the 1990s brought a change
in terms of migrants’ access to urban jobs. The November 1997 “Beijing
Migrant Census” provides a unique data set that enables a quantitative
assessment of non-locally registered migrants’ access to the formal sector,
and more specifically to “white-collar” occupations. The results show that
a university degree and a nonagricultural registration status are both
means of increasing access to employment in the formal sector. The “formal”
sector is defined as employment with five types of large, relatively
stable employers - overnment organizations, state-owned enterprises,
in by foreign, Hong Kong, or Taiwanese capital (San 22). White collar
jobs, in particular, are only available to migrants with a university degree,
with hukou status having a limited relative effect. This article shows that
qualified migrants are enetrating the formal job market while the majordichotomy
represents a recent change that could reflect a new stream of
migrants and/or more open urban employment. At the same time, the
continuing segregation or marginalization of most migrants is clearly evident
from the data.