The latest figured released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) revealed that the unemployment rate in South African decreased from 32.9% in the first quarter of 2023 to 32.6% in the second quarter of the year. There are currently
As far as employment goes, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) showed that around 154 000 more people now have a job, compared to the previous quarter. Due to this, the unemployment rate has decreased by 0.3%, with the number of unemployed people falling by 11 000 people.
Additionally…the discouraged work seekers decreased by 94 000 in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2023 resulting in a net decrease of 1 000 in the not economically active population.
Changes In Employment In Different Sectors
143 000 more people were employed in the formal sector and the informal sector employment decreased by 33 000. Here's a breakdown of employment changes in the different sectors:
- Construction: +104 000
- Trade: +92 000
- Community and Social Services: +63 000
- Manufacturing: -96 000
- Finance: -68 000
- Transport: -7 000
- Utilities: -6 000
The youth have always been the biggest group when it comes to unemployment and are the most vulnerable. In the second quarter, the number of individuals between the ages of 15 and 34 decreased by 131 000 to 4.7 million while there was an increase of 105 000 in the number of employed youth to 5.7 million during the same period.
This resulted in a decrease in youth unemployment rate by 1.1 percentage points to 45.3% in Q2:2023.
According StatsSA, Limpopo, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal recorded the biggest employment increases in the last quarter while the Free State and Northern Cape recorded employment losses.
