In a sobering turnout, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) published the latest quarterly labour force survey on Tuesday, painting a horrid picture of the country’s unemployed population.
Latest quarterly stats on South Africa’s unemployed population
According to Stats SA, South Africa’s official unemployment rate increased by 0.2 of a percentage point, from 32.7% in the last quarter (Q4) of 2022 to 32.9% in the first three months of 2023.
Stats SA’s quarterly survey observes the labour trends of South Africa’s working population, the age range of which is between 15-64 years.
Based on the latest statistics, South Africa’s working population is 40.6 million. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, this group expanded by 141 000 and, in a greater context, 571 000 year-on-year.
While a growing working population holds potential, in South Africa, it poses a greater threat to the stability of the country’s labour market, since unemployment continues to rise at a similar pace.
For instance, of the 40.6 million South Africans eligible for work, 16.1 million are actually employed. The formal sector remains a pillar of South Africa’s economy, accounting for 11.1 million workers.
More shocking, however, is the fact that 16.4 million eligible workers are not economically active.
The outcomes of the quarterly labour force survey for the first three months of 2023 showed that:
- unemployed persons increased by 179 000 to 7.9 million;
- economically inactive persons for reasons excluding discouragement to seek employment dropped by 209 00 to 13.2 million;
- discouraged work seekers totalled 3.2 million;
- The Western Cape is the most-employed province with a labour market of 2.65 million;
- The Eastern Cape houses the highest number of unemployed persons (40% of the province’s working population);
- At least half of South Africa’s employed population is on permanent contracts;
- At least 40.7% of unemployed persons hold a matric certificate; and
- 36.1% of South Africa’s young population aged between 15-24 is not employed, studying or in training, compared to 44.7% of persons aged between 15-34.