By Though the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) report shows that unemployment dropped to 32.1 percent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, this however does not mean that the economy of the country is now in full swing and improving.
One may attribute the slight changes in unemployment rate to the Government of National Unity (GNU) and its effect towards the economy; however it is still early days to actually see the impact of the GNU.
According to Stats SA, in the second quarter of 2024 unemployment rate was at 33,5 percent and dropped to 32,1 percent in the third quarter of 2024, decreasing by 1,4 percent. The expanded unemployment rate in the third quarter of 2024 decreased by 0,7 of a percentage point to 41,9% when compared with the second quarter of 2024.
According to the QLFS Q3: 2024 results, there was an increase of 294 000 in the number of employed persons to 16,9 million in Q3: 2024, while there was a decrease of 373 000 in the number of unemployed persons to 8,0 million. This resulted in a decrease of 79 000 (down by 0,3%) in the labour force during the same period.
The youth of South Africa are the most affected by unemployment and discouragement, however, the quarterly report showed some improvement towards the youth. According to Stats SA, the youth (15 to 34 years) remain vulnerable in the labour market.
The third quarter of 2024 results show that the total number of unemployed youth decreased by 171 000 to 4,8 million, while employed youth recorded an increase of 66 000 to 5,8 million. As a result, youth unemployment rate decreased from 46,6% in the second quarter of 2024 to 45,5% in the third quarter of 2024.
The report further revealed that discouraged work-seekers increased by 160 000 (up by 5,0%), and the number of persons who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement increased by 54 000 (up by 0,4%) between the second quarter and third quarter of 2024. This led to an increase of 214 000 in the number of the not economically active population to 16,5 million.
The number of persons employed in the formal sector increased by 122 000 in Q3: 2024, and the informal sector employment increased by 165 000 over the same period. The largest increases in employment were recorded in Community and social services (194 000), Construction (176 000) and Trade (109 000). Decreases in employment were recorded in Finance (189 000), Private households (32 000), Manufacturing (20 000) and Transport (18 000).
The results also indicate that the largest increases in employment were observed in Eastern Cape (83 000), Western Cape (75 000), North West (69 000) and Mpumalanga (49 000), while decreases were only observed in Gauteng (66 000) and Kwa-Zulu Natal (2 000).
