South African Unemployment Soars to 30.8 %

Unemployment in South Africa has soared to 30.8% in the last three months, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2020 has revealed. The survey also revealed that it was mainly men who worked in most industries able to continue work during Lockdown, and that working from home was more prevalent in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

The rise in unemployment is a 7.5% increase from the second quarter. This comes after Stats SA in September reported that despite the South African economy shedding 2.2 million jobs due to the COVID-19 lockdown, unemployment in SA dropped to 23.3% in the second quarter of 2020.

According to the report, released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Thursday:

The number of employed persons increased by 543 000 (3.8%) to 14.7 million compared to the second quarter of 2020. Unemployment increased substantially by 2.2 million (52.1%) to 6.5 million compared to quarter 2 of 2020 resulting in an increase of 2.8 million (15.1%) in the number of people in the labour force.

The national statistics service said that between the two quarters:

• the number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 225 000 (9.1%), while
• the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 2.9 million (15.8%), resulting in…
• a net decrease of 2.6 million (12.8%) in the not economically active population.

The unemployment rate according to the expanded definition of unemployment increased by 1.1 percentage points to 43.1% in quarter 3 of 2020 compared to quarter 2 of 2020.

There is some good employment news in SA

The survey noted that employment increased in all sectors in the third quarter.

• Formal sector employment increased by 242 000 (2.4%)
• Informal sector employment increased by 176 000 (7.7%)
• Private households increased by 116 000 (11.5%)
• Employment in Agriculture increased by 9 000 (1.1%)

The document also notes that employment increased in all industries, except utilities and transport. The industries which gained the most jobs were finance (200 000), community and social services (137 000) and private households (116 000).

Compared to quarter 3 of 2019, said the agency, employment contracted in all industries except mining where it remained unchanged in the quarter under review.

Stats SA added that most job losses were observed in trade (400 000), manufacturing (300 000), community and social services (298 000) and construction (259 000).

The impact of Lockdown in South Africa on employment

The results showed that of the 14.7 million persons who were employed in Q3: 2020, more than seven out of ten people (73.2%) were expected to work during the national lockdown by their employers.

• In most industries it was predominately men who worked, including nine out of ten of those who worked within the Construction industry during lockdown. The exceptions were in the community and social services sector and private households.
•  71.7% of those expected to work during the reference week, but who couldn’t, indicated national lockdown as the main reason for not working.
• The number of people working from home declined from 17% to 10.8% in the third quarter.
• Working from home was more prevalent in Gauteng and Western Cape, and among Professionals and Managers.
• The majority of those in employment continued to receive pay during the lockdown.
• Those with lower levels of education were more likely to receive reduced salaries than those with higher levels of education.

– SAnews.gov.za