Social Support Improves the Employment Quality of Returning Migrant Workers in China—From the Perspective of Skill-Matching

From the macro perspective of social equity and sustainable economic development, exploring the employment quality of returning rural migrant workers is an important approach to addressing the global issue of income inequality. Drawing on survey data of returning rural migrant workers in China, this study investigates the impact of social support on their employment quality and examines the underlying mechanism. The results show that social support significantly improves the employment quality of returning rural migrant workers. Mechanism analysis reveals that social support promotes the improvement of their employment quality by enhancing skill matching. Further heterogeneity analysis indicates that the promoting effect of social support is more pronounced among passively returning rural migrant workers, while the effect is weakened for those in characteristic protected villages; compared with the central region, social support exerts a stronger promoting effect on returning rural migrant workers in the eastern and western regions. The findings of this study provide new perspectives and empirical evidence for the international academic community to understand labor market dynamics, and offer a practical basis for optimizing employment policy structures and formulating targeted strategies, thereby advancing the global economy toward a more inclusive and balanced direction.