The government has welcomed the latest findings of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), which indicate a minor but substantial decline in the national unemployment rate.
“The 648 000 jobs that were gained between the first quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2022 point to a resilient economy showing signs of recovery in the labour market post the COVID-19 pandemic,” Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Director General, Phumla Williams, said on Wednesday.
The official unemployment rate declined by 0.6% from 34.5% in the first quarter of 2022 to 33.9% in the second quarter, as reported by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
On Tuesday, Stats SA released the findings of the QLFS for the second quarter of 2022, revealing that Community and Social Services (276 000), Trade (169 000), Finance (128 000), and Construction (104 000) had the most employment growth.
Nonetheless, there were significant employment losses in the Manufacturing (73 000) and Transport sectors (54 000). The total number of employed individuals in the second quarter of 2022 was 15,6 million.
Williams said that while the issue of unemployment, particularly among young people and women, remains a big worry, the most recent numbers are promising.
“We cannot be blind to the fact that more still needs to be done to improve the situation even further,” Williams said.
Through the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, the government will boost its employment measures and the ongoing economic recovery.
“Of concern is that the quarterly labour force survey revealed that nearly half of South African women were out of the labour force. In 2022, 47% of South African women were recorded as economically inactive, which means that almost half of the working age women in South Africa are out of labour force compared to 35.6% of their male counterparts.
“Most women were also considered to be in vulnerable employment with low income and low productivity jobs; more men were absorbed compared to women. The current unemployment rate for women is 35.5% compared to 32.6% for men,” GCIS said.
Williams emphasised that the disparity in unemployment rates between men and women cannot be overlooked, but added that the difference has narrowed over the previous decade, as it presently sits at 2.9% compared to 3.5% in 2012.
Elementary (22.3%), Sales and services (18.5%), Clerk (16.4%), Domestic workers (11.9%), and Technician (11.2%) accounted for the biggest percentage of employment among women in the second quarter of 2022.
During the same time period, males dominated the Elementary (24.4%), Craft and Related Trade (17.2%), Sales and Services (15.0%), and Plant and Machine operator (13.4%) occupations.
Government has developed a variety of employment assistance and job creation strategies. In the previous two years, 872 930 employment and livelihoods have been supported by the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which will shortly exceed 1 million individuals directly impacted by its numerous programmes.
In addition, the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention has assisted young job-seekers in gaining access to income-generating opportunities. Key features of the intervention’s execution to date include:
- Over 2.9 million young people are now registered on the National Pathway Management Network through SAYouth.mobi
- A total of 358 738 young people have secured earning opportunities on SA Youth, with 69% of them young women.
- A total of 30 735 young people received non-financial support and 7 530 young people received financial enterprise support from the NYDA and Department of Small Business Development.
- In the first quarter of 2022/23 alone, the National Pathway Management Network facilitated the placement of 36 440 young people into earning opportunities in the formal and informal economy as well as through public employment.
In addition to these employment initiatives, the execution of structural changes under Operation Vulindlela will continue to spur investment and job creation as the economy recovers.
The expedited transformation of the energy industry that President Ramaphosa promised in July 2022 is anticipated to significantly stimulate economic development and job creation.
“While strides have been made over the past few months as reported by Stats SA, job creation and economic recovery remain the top priorities for government. What we have achieved shows that nothing is impossible if we all put shoulders to the wheel and work towards a common goal of creating many jobs for our people,” Williams said.