The 2001 census puts South Africa's economically active population at 33.7%, although in Gauteng, the richest province, this figure is as high as 45%. Poor education is a significant contributory factor to South Africa's unemployment rate, shown at around a third of the economically active adult population.

Once again, this is concentrated chiefly in poorer rural areas - in the more developed Western Cape, for example, 17% of the economically active population are unemployed.

The unemployment figure is far higher in the black African population, at more than 28%, and lower in the white population, at 4.1%. Roughly 17% of coloureds and 10 percent of Indians are unemployed. Unemployment is categorised as those between the ages of 15 and 65 who are actively seeking work. The category excludes students, homemakers, the disabled, those too ill to work or those who have not sought work for the past four weeks since details were taken on census night.

There could be few clearer indications of the economic affect that the policies of the apartheid government have had on the majority of South Africans.

Of the workforce, 27% are employed in elementary occupations (unskilled), compared with 5% in managerial occupations. After elementary, the categories with the highest percentage of employed people are artisans (12.2%), clerical staff (10.9%) and sales or service personnel (10.2%).

Some 29.1% of the working population are employed in the community, social and personal service sector (including the public sector). The next largest employment area is manufacturing (12.6%), followed by trade (15.2%), agriculture (10%) and finance (9.4%). Construction (5.4%), mining (4%) and transport (4.6%) follow, with the electricity industry accounting for 0.7% of all jobs.

The racial divide is still dramatic in the employment picture. Overall, the largest number of employed South Africans do unskilled work. This figure peaks among black women - many of whom are in domestic employment, followed by coloured women, coloured men and black men.

On the other hand, nearly 50% of white men and women classifiy their work as managerial or professional.