What Is The Unemployment Rate In South Africa?
What is Unemployment Rate?
The percentage of the labor force without a job is known as the unemployment rate. It is a lagging indicator, which means that rather than foretelling changes in economic conditions, it often rises or decreases in response to them. The unemployment rate will likely increase when the economy struggles, and there are few open positions. It is reasonable to anticipate a decline in it when the economy is expanding healthily, and there are plenty of available jobs. According to the BLS (Bureau of Labour Statistics), anyone who works at least 15 hours per week for a family company or farm is also considered to be employed, regardless of whether they have a temporary, part-time, or full-time job. The unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted to account for predictable changes, such as increased hiring around the holidays. The unadjusted rate is also available from the BLS.
The Calamity of Unemployment In South Africa
The Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, two critical economic engines, also experienced horrific riots in July that took 354 lives and resulted in the looting and closure of thousands of companies. According to the South African Property Owners Association, the turmoil put at least 150,000 jobs in danger and cost the nation 50 billion rands ($3.3 billion) in missed output. Even though production increased by at least 5% annually in the early 2000s, the unemployment rate in Africa’s biggest industrialized country has been above 20% for at least two decades.
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The South African Job Market
Due to severe labor rules that make it challenging to hire and fire employees and an education system that doesn’t give sufficient skills, South African businesses find it challenging to fill open positions. Forcing many Black people to live in so-called “townships” outside of cities during apartheid also made it impossible for inhabitants to access the formal employment market.
What Is The Unemployment Rate In South Africa?
The unemployment rate in South Africa was 33.9% in the second quarter of 2022, down from 34.5% in the first and a record-high 35.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021. The number of employed people climbed by 648 thousand to 15.562 million, while the labor force increased by 780 thousand to 23.556 million. The number of jobless people increased by 132 thousand to 7.994 million. Community and social services (+276,000), trade (+1696,000), banking (+118,000), and construction (+1046,000) were the sectors that saw the most job growth. However, despite disruptions brought on by rolling blackouts and heavy flooding in KwaZulu-Natal, manufacturing (-73 thousand) and transportation (-54 thousand) also recorded declines. Including those who have given up seeking work, the enlarged definition of unemployment fell from 45.5% in the first quarter to 44.1%. In the second quarter of 2022, the youth unemployment rate—which counts job searchers between the ages of 15 and 24—dropped to 61.4%, the lowest level in two years.
