Labor mobility is a crucial source of income, employment, and skill acquisition for Pacific Islanders. In the context of limited formal job opportunities at home, since 2007 an increasing number of Pacific Islanders have participated in New Zealand´s Registered Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme and Australia´s Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP). Since mid-2018, a growing number of semi-skilled Pacific workers have also worked under Australia´s Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS), a program providing employment for up to three years to an uncapped number of workers.

Past survey studies have documented significant positive economic impacts of the RSE and SWP. However, various issues related to the development impacts of the Pacific labor mobility schemes are not yet well understood.

In this context, The World Bank decided to conduct a series of surveys on Pacific migrant workers under the three schemes, their households, and non-sending households in labor-sending countries. The survey aims to produce new quantitative data to empirically characterize Pacific migrant workers and their households in their home countries and measure the impacts of different types of labor mobility over time.

The survey was implemented by phone in Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Tonga and Vanuatu. Parstats Consulting developed the methodological design, the sampling strategy, supported the questionnaire design and carried out the data collection and quality assurance.