There were few positives to draw from Statistics South Africa’s latest unemployment report published on Monday.
The number you need to know is 29.1%. That’s the latest percentage of working age South Africans unable to find a job, an increase of 0.1% over the previous quarter.
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But the country’s job crisis is a little more complex than a percentage.
We delve into the innards of Stats SA’s unemployment report and give you some other key numbers and factoids you ought to know.
- 29.1%: the current, and highest, recorded unemployment percentage since Stats SA began its Quarterly Labour Force Survey in 2008.
- 25.4%: the unemployment percentage recorded in 2014.
- 38.6-million: the number of people considered to be of working age — individuals between 15 and 64 years of age.
- 78 000: the number of newly unemployed people in Q3 2019.
- 62 000: the number of newly employed people in Q3 2019.
- 141 000: the number of people that joined the country’s labour force in Q3 2019, a 0.6% increase over Q2 2019.
- 6.7-million: the total number of people that are now unemployed in South Africa.
- 70.9%: the percentage of those looking for a job considered to be “long-term” unemployed. This number has increased by more than 10% in the past decade.
- 30.9%: the percentage of unemployed women in South Africa. 27.7% are men.
- 43 000: the number of job additions in the formal sector in Q3 2019. Agriculture and mining added 38 000 jobs each in Q3 2019.
- 122 000: the number of “professional” jobs added in Q3 2019 over Q2 2019.
- 30 000: the number of jobs lost by the manufacturing industry in Q3 2019. Construction saw 24 000 job losses in the past quarter.
- 58.2%: the percentage of South Africa’s youth (aged 15-24) currently unemployed. It remains the age group in South Africa with the highest portion of unemployed people.
- 9.9%: the percentage of unemployed in the 55-64 age group. This group currently has the lowest unemployment rate of any age group.
For a more granular look at the country’s unemployment statistics, read the abbreviated and full Stats SA report here.
Feature image: Kateryna Babaieva via Pexels
