This study was carried out to examine the impact of migration on rural employment and earnings in the Western Development Region of Nepal. Spatial mobility in expectation of employment and earning opportunities has remained a phenomenon in rural areas. Destinations of migrants have either been long or short distance. However, rural-to-rural migration has not contributed to occupational mobility and attainment of a higher level of earnings at the place of destination in comparison to the native population who have stayed behind. Temporary migration, largely to India, has resulted in occupational mobility, reduced rural underemployment, and contributed higher cash income to the participating households. Consequently, households with temporary outmigrant members who contribute to household earnings by salary, remittances, or pension, distinctly increase the earning level of this group and is significantly higher than that of households without any migrant members. The temporary outmigration of at least one member from more than one-third of total rural households has not had a negative impact on the subsistence production of agriculture.
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