The study investigated barriers and enablers that day labourers in East London, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, experience while attempting to access temporary employment opportunities. The focus was on the constraints and enablers of the structures in East London’s local economy. The research adopted a sequential exploratory design, utilising a three-phase approach. The first phase of the study was a quantitative process to determine the socio-economic profile of the day labourers. The second and third phases were qualitative. In phase 3, semi-structured interviews were conducted with day labourers at three selected hiring sites. Political interference, lack of access to information, insufficient skills and skills accreditation, a difficult local business environment and limited access to the Extended Public Works Programme as a result of age and gender are the key endogenous and exogenous constraints and structures at play in the day labour market in East London. These structures render day labourers structurally vulnerable despite the agency and resilience displayed through their daily endeavours. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates this vulnerability vividly. It is imperative that the government revisits relevant policies to accommodate the ‘missing middle’ still on the margins and outside the catchment area of protective measures.

该研究调查了南非东开普省东伦敦的日工在尝试获得临时就业机会时遇到的障碍和促成因素。重点是东伦敦当地经济结构的制约因素和推动因素。该研究采用顺序探索性设计，采用三阶段方法。研究的第一阶段是一个定量过程，以确定日工的社会经济概况。第二和第三阶段是定性的。在第 3 阶段，在三个选定的招聘地点对临时工进行了半结构化面试。政治干预、无法获得信息、技能和技能认证不足，困难的当地商业环境以及由于年龄和性别而导致的扩展公共工程计划的机会有限是东伦敦日工市场中主要的内生和外生约束和结构。尽管通过他们的日常工作表现出了能动性和韧性，但这些结构使临时工在结构上变得脆弱。COVID-19 大流行生动地说明了这种脆弱性。政府重新审视相关政策势在必行，以适应仍处于保护措施边缘和集水区之外的“缺失的中间地带”。尽管通过他们的日常工作表现出了能动性和韧性，但这些结构使临时工在结构上变得脆弱。COVID-19 大流行生动地说明了这种脆弱性。政府重新审视相关政策势在必行，以适应仍处于保护措施边缘和集水区之外的“缺失的中间地带”。尽管通过他们的日常工作表现出了能动性和韧性，但这些结构使临时工在结构上变得脆弱。COVID-19 大流行生动地说明了这种脆弱性。政府重新审视相关政策势在必行，以适应仍处于保护措施边缘和集水区之外的“缺失的中间地带”。