Abstract
Does experiencing internal migration hasten access to the labour market? This article studies the gap in length of transition to a first job between internal migrant and non‐migrant youth in Uganda. According to the specific context of this developing country, three transition starting points are considered: date of birth, minimum legal working age and school exit. Extended Cox proportional hazard models suggest that migrants experience shorter transitions. However, when excluding child labourers or measuring school‐to‐work transitions, significant gaps disappear. Decomposition of transition length gaps reveals the importance of observable and unobservable factors related in particular to area of origin, gender and access to education.