Marrying a Shanghai man doesn't ensure a life of luxury for migrant women, according to a recent study, which found most such couples work low-skilled jobs and earn meager salaries.

The shanghai Women's Federation sent questionnaires out to 550 migrant women who are married to local men in order to get a better idea of their situation.

There are currently more than 100,000 migrant women in the city who are married to locals.

About 32 percent of the women surveyed said they originally moved to Shanghai in order to find a good man to marry.

While 70 percent of respondents said they found true love, few found good jobs or wealth.

Nearly 40 percent of the women said their family earns less than 900 yuan (US$108) a month, and most of them live on government subsidies.

"Because they have little education and few skills, they earn very little money and live in small houses with the husbands' parents or other relatives," said Lu Jianmin, who conducted the survey.

Only 15.7 percent of the sampled families own their own homes, and less than half of them are nuclear families, the survey reports.

More than 60 percent of the surveyed hail from rural parts of the country, and 70 percent of them dropped out before reaching middle school.

"I urgently need to find a job, but it's difficult because I don't have skills or registered permanent residence," said Liu Chunhua, 29, a migrant woman whose husband earns only 800 yuan a month.

"Having no registered permanent residence makes it more difficult for these women to find a job, but the biggest problem is they have no marketable skills," said Lu.

She suggests the government set up more free training courses for these women and provide them with guidance in finding suitable jobs.

Despite the hardship, 87 percent of the women questioned said they were satisfied with their marriage and family status.

(eastday.com June 7, 2005)