Unemployment balancing act
29 September 2004
Unemployment in South Africa is stabilising. That's according Statistics South Africa, which puts the official unemployment rate at 27.8% for March 2004 compared to 28.4% in September 2003. At the same time, employment has increased.
Unemployment figures in South Africa are controversial. The level of unemployment is among the highest in the world, and many peg the actual unemployment rate much higher than current statistics.
Officially, unemployment is only measured among people who are actively seeking employment. This can lead to the anomaly of the unemployment rate falling, yet there being little or no increase in the number of people with jobs.
Earlier this year, the media reported that as many as a million job seekers had become so discouraged that they had stopped looking for work. As a result,
they were no longer counted among the unemployed of the country.
The latest Stats SA labour force survey - based on a household sample - says the number of unemployed South Africans dropped from 4 627-million to 4 611-million over the last six months.
The expanded unemployment rate – which takes into account unemployed people who are not actively seeking jobs - dropped from 42% in September last year to 41.2% in March this year.
Employment also 'stable'
The findings of the survey show that employment in South Africa increased by 83 000 in the second quarter compared with the first quarter of 2004, with the number of employed citizens rising from just over 11 600-million to just under 12-million over the six-month period.
The statistics body says the increase can be described as a stabilisation rather than an improvement.
Analysts say that since 2000 South Africa's formal sector has been responsible for most of the jobs
created in the country - and that employment in the the informal sector has in fact been stagnant or declining.
Employment gains have been felt primarily in the manufacturing, electricity, mining (excluding gold mining), trade and hospitality industries. Finance, real estate, business services and construction have felt the brunt of job losses.
Meanwhile, analysts are saying that economic growth on its own will not solve the country's unemployment crisis. Some expect the economy to grow by 2.8% in 2004 and 3.1% in 2005, up from 1.9% in 2003.
However, as things stand, mostly skilled workers are expected to benefit from growth. Analysts say structural problems need to be addressed in order for unskilled workers to benefit from fresh employment opportunities.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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