Migration and informal sector employment: the case of Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Despite the earlier belief, based mainly on the experience of the present day developed countries, that rural-urban migration and urbanization are associated with increased employment opportunities, it is now believed that these are contributory factors to the unemployment and poverty problems in the urban areas of many developing countries. In the firs t place, rapid rural-urban migration has been linked with the high urban open unemployment found in many developing countries. In the second place, it is now generally recognised that urban open unemployment in the developing countries is only the visible portion of a more pervasive under-employment problem. Although many are found to be at work, they are in marginal jobs in the informal sector which result in a considerably mismatch of educational attainment and requirement and low incomes.