
Employment levels back to pre-recession peak but absorption rate lower
Employment levels at 14 million in Q3: 2013 are now back to the Q4: 2008 peak. The working age population however, has increased by 2,3 million over the period Q4: 2008 to Q3: 2013 such that the percentage of South Africans aged 15-64 years with jobs (the absorption rate) has declined from 45,0% in Q4: read more »
Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q3:2021
MEDIA RELEASE 30 November 2021 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q3:2021 The official unemployment rate was 34,9% in the third quarter of 2021. The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2021 show that the number of employed persons decreased by 660 000 in the third quarter of read more »

The South African economy sheds more than half a million jobs in the 3rd quarter of 2021
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the 3rd quarter of 2021, the number of employed persons declined by 660Â 000 to 14,3 million compared to the 2nd quarter of 2021. The decline in employment is coupled with a decline in the number of unemployed persons to 7,6 million from 7,8 million, resulting in read more »

South African labour market is more favourable to men than women
Equal opportunity and equal treatment in the labour market are at the core of decent work. Unfortunately, women in South Africa and around the world still face additional challenges that hinder them from accessing employment. Once they are in employment, appointments to decision-making positions and jobs in certain sectors, or of certain characteristics, remain elusive. read more »

Realizing women’s rights for an equal future on Women’s Day
There is no doubt that South Africa has made significant progress towards achieving gender equality since 1956, when 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. Activists rebelled against a patriarchal system designed to control women and reduce them to submissive beings read more »

Youth still find it difficult to secure jobs in South Africa
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the 16 June 1976 student uprising in Soweto. In 1994, the new democratic government declared 16 June as National Youth Day and June as the Youth Month. With the focus on the youth under the theme: “The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Growing youth employment for an inclusive read more »

More people participate in the South African labour market in the 4th quarter of 2020
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), there was an increase of 333Â 000 in the number of employed persons, an increase of 701Â 000 in the number of unemployed persons and a decrease of 890Â 000 in the number of people who are out of the labour force, in the 4th quarter of 2020 compared to read more »
Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q3:2020
MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                                  12 November 2020                                                                  Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q3:2020 The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2020 indicate large movements out of the “other not economically active” category to “employed” and “unemployed” between quarter 2 and quarter 3 2020. The number of employed read more »

Significant movements into the labour force in the 3rd quarter of 2020
In the 3rd quarter of 2020 there were significant movements in the South African labour market. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), a large number of persons moved from the “other not economically active” category to “employed” and “unemployed” status between quarter two and quarter three of 2020. The movement was proportionately more read more »
29 September Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q2:2020
The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2020 indicate that the number of employed persons decreased by 2,2 million to 14,1 million compared to the first quarter of 2020. This unprecedented change is the largest quarter one to quarter two decline since the survey began in 2008. Contrary read more »