Job seekers wait beside a road for casual work offered by passing motorists in Eikenhof, south of Johannesburg. Photo Reuters
Job seekers wait beside a road for casual work offered by passing motorists in Eikenhof, south of Johannesburg. Photo Reuters

South Africa’s unemployment rate dips

Almost back to pre-Covid level
The formal sector accounts for almost 70% of total employment.
Helena Wasserman
The unemployment rate fell by 0.3 of a percentage point to 32.6% in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the previous three months, new Statistics SA data shows. This was better than economists expected.

The number of employed increased by 154 000 to 16.3 million in the quarter and has now almost reached pre-pandemic levels of 16.4 million, said Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke during the release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). But the growth in employed South Africans cooled sharply from 258 000 new jobs in the first quarter.

The unemployment rate among graduates fell by one percentage point to 9.6% in the second quarter.

The number of unemployed persons decreased by 11 000 to 7.9 million during the same quarter. A decade ago, 5 million South Africans were unemployed. The proportion of those in long-term unemployment increased from 66.7% to 77.3% over the past ten years, while female unemployment increased from 27.5% to 35.7%.

In the second quarter of this year, the unemployment rate according to the expanded definition - which includes people who were available for work but not looking for a job – fell by 0.3 of a percentage point to 42.1%.

Construction (104 000) and trade (92 000) created the most jobs in the three months to end-June. However the manufacturing and finance sectors saw large falls in employment.

The formal sector accounts for almost 70% of total employment.

Among the provinces, Limpopo (80 000 more jobs), Western Cape (54 000) and KwaZulu-Natal (48 000) saw the largest employment increases.

The Northwest province had the highest expanded unemployment rate in the country, followed by Mpumalanga.

Some 3.5 million (34.2%) out of 10.2 million young people aged 15-24 years were not in employment, education or training (NEET). But the total number of unemployed youth (15-34 years) decreased by 131 000 to 4.7 million, resulting in a 1.1 percentage point decrease in the youth unemployment rate to 45.3%. The unemployment rate remains highest among the black population.-Fin24

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Premier League: Manchester United 3 vs 2 Newcastle | Brighton 1 vs 2 Chelsea | Tottenham Hotspur 0 vs 2 Manchester City | Aston Villa 3 vs 3 Liverpool LaLiga: Celta Vigo 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Getafe 0 vs 3 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 0 vs 1 Cadiz | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 1 Granada | Girona 0 vs 1 Villarreal | Real Madrid 5 vs 0 Deportivo Alaves | Osasuna 1 vs 1 Mallorca | Barcelona 2 vs 0 Real Sociedad SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 Monza | Lecce 0 vs 2 Udinese Katima Mulilo: 11° | 31° Rundu: 11° | 30° Eenhana: 11° | 31° Oshakati: 13° | 30° Ruacana: 13° | 30° Tsumeb: 14° | 28° Otjiwarongo: 12° | 27° Omaruru: 14° | 28° Windhoek: 11° | 26° Gobabis: 13° | 26° Henties Bay: 19° | 35° Wind speed: 42km/h, Wind direction: E, Low tide: 04:48, High tide: 10:54, Low Tide: 16:42, High tide: 23:24 Swakopmund: 20° | 26° Wind speed: 26km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 04:46, High tide: 10:52, Low Tide: 16:40, High tide: 23:22 Walvis Bay: 23° | 34° Wind speed: 34km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 04:46, High tide: 10:51, Low Tide: 16:40, High tide: 23:21 Rehoboth: 12° | 26° Mariental: 15° | 28° Keetmanshoop: 18° | 29° Aranos: 15° | 28° Lüderitz: 19° | 35° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 31° Oranjemund: 14° | 26° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 15° | 29° Lubumbashi: 11° | 27° Mbabane: 14° | 28° Maseru: 10° | 24° Antananarivo: 12° | 22° Lilongwe: 14° | 28° Maputo: 17° | 30° Windhoek: 11° | 26° Cape Town: 16° | 20° Durban: 18° | 25° Johannesburg: 15° | 25° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 32° Lusaka: 15° | 27° Harare: 12° | 25° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.03 | EUR to NAD 19.78 | CNY to NAD 2.52 | USD to NAD 18.2 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.72 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.54 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 133.89 | USD to AOA 847.42 | USD to BWP 13.53 | USD to EGP 46.85 | USD to KES 130.48 | USD to NGN 1520 | USD to ZAR 18.2 | USD to ZMW 25.1 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 79361.57 Up +0.93% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1732.62 Up +1.27% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13421.4 Down -0.59% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25316.08 Down -0.09% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 381.60/OZ DOWN -0.0043 | Copper US$ 4.84/lb DOWN -0.0111 | Zinc US$ 2 974.50/T DOWN -0.3% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 83.47/BBP UP +0.24% | Platinum US$ 1 055.84/OZ DOWN -0.0131 Sport results: Premier League: Manchester United 3 vs 2 Newcastle | Brighton 1 vs 2 Chelsea | Tottenham Hotspur 0 vs 2 Manchester City | Aston Villa 3 vs 3 Liverpool LaLiga: Celta Vigo 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Getafe 0 vs 3 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 0 vs 1 Cadiz | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 1 Granada | Girona 0 vs 1 Villarreal | Real Madrid 5 vs 0 Deportivo Alaves | Osasuna 1 vs 1 Mallorca | Barcelona 2 vs 0 Real Sociedad SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 Monza | Lecce 0 vs 2 Udinese Weather: Katima Mulilo: 11° | 31° Rundu: 11° | 30° Eenhana: 11° | 31° Oshakati: 13° | 30° Ruacana: 13° | 30° Tsumeb: 14° | 28° Otjiwarongo: 12° | 27° Omaruru: 14° | 28° Windhoek: 11° | 26° Gobabis: 13° | 26° Henties Bay: 19° | 35° Wind speed: 42km/h, Wind direction: E, Low tide: 04:48, High tide: 10:54, Low Tide: 16:42, High tide: 23:24 Swakopmund: 20° | 26° Wind speed: 26km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 04:46, High tide: 10:52, Low Tide: 16:40, High tide: 23:22 Walvis Bay: 23° | 34° Wind speed: 34km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 04:46, High tide: 10:51, Low Tide: 16:40, High tide: 23:21 Rehoboth: 12° | 26° Mariental: 15° | 28° Keetmanshoop: 18° | 29° Aranos: 15° | 28° Lüderitz: 19° | 35° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 31° Oranjemund: 14° | 26° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 15° | 29° Lubumbashi: 11° | 27° Mbabane: 14° | 28° Maseru: 10° | 24° Antananarivo: 12° | 22° Lilongwe: 14° | 28° Maputo: 17° | 30° Windhoek: 11° | 26° Cape Town: 16° | 20° Durban: 18° | 25° Johannesburg: 15° | 25° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 32° Lusaka: 15° | 27° Harare: 12° | 25° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.03 | EUR to NAD 19.78 | CNY to NAD 2.52 | USD to NAD 18.2 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.72 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.54 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 133.89 | USD to AOA 847.42 | USD to BWP 13.53 | USD to EGP 46.85 | USD to KES 130.48 | USD to NGN 1520 | USD to ZAR 18.2 | USD to ZMW 25.1 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 79361.57 Up +0.93% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1732.62 Up +1.27% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13421.4 Down -0.59% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25316.08 Down -0.09% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 381.60/OZ DOWN -0.0043 | Copper US$ 4.84/lb DOWN -0.0111 | Zinc US$ 2 974.50/T DOWN -0.3% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 83.47/BBP UP +0.24% | Platinum US$ 1 055.84/OZ DOWN -0.0131