📄 Abstract
While existing literature on labor migration in Vietnam extensively covers individual employment and basic living conditions, there remains a critical research gap concerning social security at the household level—the primary unit where livelihood strategies are formulated and labor is reproduced. Most current policies and studies focus on the individual worker, overlooking the cumulative socio-economic risks that diffuse within the migrant family structure. This study addresses this gap by examining the social security status of migrant workers’ households in the industrial zones of Bac Ninh Province. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates survey data from 600 migrant households with 145 in-depth interviews to evaluate five key dimensions: housing, income, healthcare, education, and working conditions. The findings reveal that despite modest improvements in income, migrant households face severe structural constraints. Specifically, 80.1% of households are dependent on substandard private rental housing, which serves as a major barrier to long-term settlement and family reunification. Income remains vulnerable, with 12.5% of total earnings relying on excessive overtime. Furthermore, limited access to formal healthcare is evidenced by a 62% self-medication rate, while only 24.2% of workers can afford to have their children live and study with them at the destination. These results suggest that the current social security system fails to provide a sustainable safety net for the household unit. The study contributes to the sustainable livelihoods framework by highlighting the household as a central intermediary for policy intervention and proposes a shift from individual-centered support to integrated, family-oriented social welfare infrastructure.
🏷️ Keywords
📚 How to Cite:
Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang , ASSESSING SOCIAL SECURITY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS’ HOUSEHOLDS IN INDUSTRIAL ZONES: EVIDENCE FROM BAC NINH PROVINCE, VIETNAM , Volume 13 , Issue 7, July 2026, EPRA International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Studies (EBMS) , Pages: 85 - 92 ,