Strategies of the unemployed: does moving allow the unemployed to get ahead?

Abstract

This paper examines the survival strategies of the unemployed using the balanced panel sample of the first three waves of the National Income Dynamics Study (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit [SALDRU], 2013c). We find that in response to unemployment and almost no unemployment insurance, unemployed individuals look to parents, relatives and friends for economic support. In many cases the unemployed delay setting up their own households while others may move back to family households when faced with persistent unemployment. We use a probit model to show that the unemployed who move in a successive wave are more likely to be employed. The effect of moving on employment status remains significant and positive when we take into account household and individual characteristics. Moving does allow the unemployed to get ahead.