Demographic and Spatial Disparities in Labor Market Outcomes within the Kinshasa Urban Landscape

Abstract

This paper examines the labor market and jobs in urban Kinshasa, by drawing on a recently collected household survey and other data sets. It particularly focuses on labor supply and employment patterns, job characteristics, and their spatial nexus. The analysis first shows that female and young workers are more likely to experience unemployment and underemployment than other workers in Kinshasa. Second, the availability of good quality jobs is still limited in Kinshasa. Third, in addition to the scarcity of good jobs, which are concentrated in the city core, poor accessibility due to the limited connective infrastructure and transport system further reduces job opportunities for people living in the outskirts.