BEIJING -- The Chinese government is checking companies nationwide for defaults of migrant workers' wages, with over a million workers having already recovered their hard-earned money.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced on Friday that authorities had helped 1.68 million migrant workers obtain defaulted wages and compensation totalling 8.75 billion yuan ($1.39 billion) by January 31.

An official with the ministry noted that the wage defaults mainly occurred in the construction sector, which employs numerous migrant workers.

He pledged joint efforts by multiple ministries to crack down on wage defaults before Spring Festival, China's biggest holiday.

Authorities have checked 491,400 employers who employ a total of 25.77 million migrant workers.