For several decades, urban labour markets throughout the Third World have experienced an excess of labour with limited skills. This has led to a growth in open unemployment. Some writers maintain that in countries where few qualify for unemployment benefits, unemployment is not usually representative of those in the most desperate living conditions. It is argued that only the not-so-poor family can support an unemployed member (e.g. an educated offspring) during an extended search for employmen t with in the protected labour force. For the poor, unemployment is a luxury they cannot afford. Although one should not dismiss the problem of unemployment among middle-income groups, the bulk of evidence underlines the concentration of unemployment among the poor residents of Third World cities.