abstract: 'We began with the premise that South African recent migrants from rural

  to urban areas experience relatively lower rates of participation in

  formal labour markets compared to local residents in urban communities,

  and that these migrants are overrepresented in the informal labour

  market and in the unemployment sector. This means that rural to urban

  migrants are less likely than locals to be found in formal employment

  and more likely to be found in informal employment and among the

  unemployed. Using perspectives from Development Economics we explore the

  South African National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) panel datasets of

  2008 and 2010, which only provide a perspective on what has happened

  between 2008 and 2010. We find that while migrants in general experience

  positive outcomes in informal labour markets, they also experience

  positive outcomes in formal markets, which is contrary to expectations.

  We also find that there are strong links between other indicators of

  performance in the labour market. Earned incomes are closely associated

  with migration decisions and educational qualifications (e.g. a matric

  certificate) for respondents between the ages of 30 and 60 years. The

  youth (15 to 30 years old) and senior respondents (over the age of 60)

  are the most disadvantaged in the labour market. The disadvantage is

  further reflected in lower earned incomes. This is the case even though

  the youth are most likely to migrate. We conclude that migration is

  motivated by both push (to seek employment) and pull (existing networks

  or marriage at destination) factors. For public policy, the emerging

  patterns - indicative and established - are important for informing

  strategies aimed at creating employment and developing skills for the

  unemployed, migrants and especially the youth. Similar policy strategies

  are embodied in the National Development Plan (NDP), the National Skills

  Development Strategy (NSDS), etc.'
affiliation: 'Mbatha, CN (Corresponding Author), Univ S Africa, Grad Sch Business
  Leadership, ZA-0001 Pretoria, South Africa.

  Mbatha, Cyril N., Univ S Africa, Grad Sch Business Leadership, ZA-0001 Pretoria,
  South Africa.'
author: Mbatha, Cyril N. and Roodt, Joan
author_list:
- family: Mbatha
  given: Cyril N.
- family: Roodt
  given: Joan
da: '2023-09-28'
files: []
issn: 2222-3436
journal: SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
keywords: rural; migration; unemployment; multinomial logistical model
keywords-plus: UNEMPLOYMENT; MODEL; DETERMINANTS; GROWTH; SECTOR; WAGES; INDIA
language: English
number: '5'
number-of-cited-references: '42'
pages: 653-672
papis_id: c3fe41bb72b2046875b933130c731420
ref: Mbatha2014recentinternal
times-cited: '5'
title: 'RECENT INTERNAL MIGRATION AND LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES: EXPLORING THE 2008 AND
  2010 NATIONAL INCOME DYNAMICS STUDY (NIDS) PANEL DATA IN SOUTH AFRICA'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000345839000010
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '12'
volume: '17'
web-of-science-categories: Economics; Management
year: '2014'