Migration, unemployment and the urban labour market. A case study of the Sudan.

Investigation of migration unemployment and the urban labor in Sudan was based on the Household Socioeconomic Survey of Greater Khartoum conducted in October-November 1974. The survey sample consisted of 15339 persons 8904 of whom were natives of the 3 towns (Greater Khartoum) and 6435 were immigrants. Among the latter were 976 children below 12 years of age from whom no migration information was collected. Adult migrants were further subdivided into those who had migrated during the 5 years preceding the survey (947) and those who had migrated 5 or more years previously (4512). During the 5 years preceding the survey the rate of migration into the 3 towns was of the order of 2.2% per annum. Over 80% of the migrants came from 9 of the 12 northern and central provinces. The 3 southern provinces contributed few migrants to the area. 47% of the recent migrants stated that their last place of residence had been a rural area; 53% reported an urban area. Among recent migrants 69% of the males and 67% of the females were between the ages of 15-29. Only 4% of the males and 11% of the females were over 50. The migrants had a significantly higher level of education than the average population in the northern and central provinces where most of them originated but this does not mean that they were necessarily better educated than the native population of the 3 towns. Of the 947 recent migrants 354 had been working before the move. Of these the great majority 73% had been in agriculture 8% in services 6% in trade and 3% in construction. 18% of those working before the move were private employees 6% government employees and the remaining 76% either self employed or unpaid family workers. In this last category 82% of the self employed and 97% of the unpaid family workers had been in agriculture. The principal pull factors seemed to have been higher average annual earnings job availability better educational opportunities and the low cost of migration due to the presence of friends and relatives in the 3 towns. Dominant among the push factors were population pressure lack of job opportunities and climatic conditions leading to low agricultural productivity and incomes. The overall labor force participation rate among recent recent migrants was 79% for males and only 7% for females. A higher proportion of newly arrived migrants worked in services and a lower proportion in transport. The proportion of natives who were engaged in professional technical and administrative work was almost double that of the migrant groups. Natives were also relatively more likely to be clerical workers. For both migrants and natives average annual earnings increased steadily with the level of educational attainment. 50% of the migrants who came to the 3 towns without a job found a job within 6 months and that those who were unemployed for longer than this were supported by family or friends. The evidence suggests that migrants to Greater Khartoum are being absorbed into urban employment rather than relegated to irregular low status activities on the fringe of the urban economy.