The recent global financial crisis had destructive consequences for the world’s labor markets. Migrant laborers and overseas contract workers were at the forefront of massive retrenchments and, as a result, remittances fell sharply in some of the world most remittance-dependent economies. Large waves of returnees were reported, while other unemployed migrant workers stayed on in their host countries, competing for scarce jobs, and likely fueling social tensions in the process. Unfortunately, the majority of overseas workers fall outside formal unemployment insurance systems. In host countries around the world, there are typically no mechanisms for guest workers to pay into an unemployment insurance system. Nor are migrant workers covered by unemployment insurance systems in their countries of origin. At the same time, a large fraction of migrant workers are undocumented workers and would not be covered by any social insurance system in the first place. Some unemployed workers with adequate savings may have fared well, but for most workers, the consequences of the crisis have likely been borne fully by them and by their households. In the post-crisis environment, host countries and countries of origin have an opportunity to consider how best to provide safety nets for their overseas workers. As the global economy recovers, unemployed migrant workers will likely find new jobs and those who returned to their home countries will likely be redeployed.