Image Source: The Mail & Guardian
Local – South Africa’s official unemployment rate is 31.9%, dropping from 32.1% in the third quarter of 2024. This 0.2 percentage point decrease was revealed in the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday.
The improvement in the unemployment rate is attributed to an increase of 132,000 in the number of employed persons, bringing the total employed population to 17.1 million in the fourth quarter.
“While there was a decrease of 20,000 in the number of unemployed persons to 8,0 million. This resulted in an increase of 112 000 (up by 0,4%) in the labour force during the same period,” Stats SA said.
However, the labour market still faces significant challenges. The number of discouraged work-seekers—those who have stopped looking for work—increased by 111,000 (3.3%).
Meanwhile, “The number of persons who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 93 000 (down by 0,7%) between the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2024. This led to an increase of 18 000 in the number of the not economically active population to 16,5 million.”
Despite the official unemployment rate drop, the expanded unemployment rate, which includes discouraged work-seekers, remained unchanged at 41.9% in the fourth quarter.
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Formal and Informal Sectors Show Job Gains
In terms of sector performance, the formal sector added 90,000 jobs, while employment in the informal sector grew by 34,000.
“The largest increases in employment were recorded in Finance (232 000) and Manufacturing (41 000). Decreases in employment were recorded in Community and Social Services (63 000), Trade (48 000), Construction (22 000), Mining (18 000), Utilities (17 000) and Agriculture (11 000).”
Provincially, the Western Cape recorded the highest employment increase with 62,000 new jobs, followed by KwaZulu-Natal (52,000) and Gauteng (45,000). Decreases were observed in the Free State (-25,000), North West (-20,000), and Limpopo (-16,000).
Youth unemployment remains a concern despite some progress. The number of unemployed youth aged 15–34 years decreased by 133,000 to 4.7 million, while employed youth increased by 37,000 to 5.8 million. Consequently, youth unemployment dropped from 45.5% to 44.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Although the decline in the unemployment rate is a positive sign, the rising number of discouraged work-seekers and persistent youth unemployment underline the need for continued efforts to stimulate job creation and economic growth.
