Cape Town - Almost 400 000 South Africans found jobs in Q3 of this year, bringing the total number of employed persons in the country up to 16.7 million.
In this July to September period, 7.8 million people were recorded as being unemployed, a decrease of 72000, reveals Stats SA’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released on Tuesday.
The QLFS is a household-based sample survey conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). It collects data on the labour market activities of individuals aged 15 years and older who live in South Africa.
However, this report only covers labour market activities of persons aged 15 to 64 years.
In addition, QLFS found that the number of people who were not economically active – despite being aged 15 to 64 and willing and able to work, decreased by 186 000; those who were not working for reasons other than being discouraged dropped by 160 000, while those who had, in the previous quarter, been trying to find work but were unsuccessful, decreased by 26 000.
Compared to a year ago, total employment increased by 979 000 persons (or 6.2%). The number of unemployed persons increased by 124 000 (or 1.6%), while the number of people who were not economically active decreased by 539 000 (or 3.2%)
Large employment increases were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (up by 152 000), Limpopo (up by 70 000), North West (up by 61 000) and Mpumalanga (up by 44 000).
Employment losses were recorded only in Free State (down by 3 000) during the same period. North West recorded the biggest quarter-to-quarter percentage change in employment with an increase of 6.9%.
Compared to the third quarter in 2022, the largest increases in employment were recorded in Western Cape (up by 305 000), KwaZulu-Natal (up by 255 000), Limpopo (up by 202 000), Eastern Cape (up by 99 000) and Gauteng (up by 96 000).
Free State was the only province that experienced losses in employment with a decrease of 70 000 during the same period. Limpopo had the biggest year-on-year percentage change in employment with an increase of 15.1%.
Premier Alan Winde and Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC Mireille Wenger commented on QLFS saying that the province’s work to grow the Western Cape economy is producing encouraging results.
The QLFS shows that in the Western Cape jobs are up and unemployment is down:
- Employment is up by 22 000 jobs or by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter;
- Employment is up by 305 000 jobs or by 12.6%, year-on-year;
- The highest number of jobs created in South Africa between quarter 3 of 2022 and quarter 3 of 2023 were in the Western Cape;
- Unemployment is down, on the official definition, by 0.7 percentage points quarter-on-quarter;
- Unemployment is down, on the official definition, by 4.3 percentage points, year-on-year – which is the biggest decrease in South Africa; and
- On the expanded definition, the unemployment rate is down by 3.9 percentage points, year-on-year.
Winde said: “The statistics released today show that where there is good and stable governance that creates the enabling environment there is a way to grow our economy and create more jobs for the residents of the Western Cape. And the results of the QLFS today, prove that we are on track.”
Wenger said: “While we have more work to do, I am proud of the results reflected in the data released today, showing that the Western Cape not only created more jobs year-on-year than any other province, but that we also have the lowest unemployment rate, the lowest expanded unemployment rate as well as the highest absorption rate and highest labour force participation rate in South Africa.”
Winde added that in terms of the official unemployment rate, the province is at 20.2% in Q3 of 2023, which is a significant 11.7% lower than South Africa's official unemployment rate (of 31.9%) in the same quarter.
“This is still worryingly high, especially for younger job seekers who are a particular priority for this government, but these figures are showing that a different trajectory for this country is possible. In terms of the expanded unemployment rate, we are at 25.6%, a total of 15.6% lower than South Africa's expanded unemployment rate (41.2%) in the same quarter,” he said.
Wenger said the QLFS show the impact that their economic action plan, called “Growth for Jobs” is having on the provincial economy.
The City of Cape Town also celebrated its gains stating that Cape Town has added 205 000 new jobs over the last year, more than all other metros combined.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the metro’s unemployment rate fell by 3.8% year-on-year and remains the lowest of all eight metros based on the expanded unemployment definition, which offers the most complete estimate.
“Cape Town’s economy is showing resilience, with employment levels above pre-Covid levels for three consecutive quarters. The city added more jobs year-on-year than all other cities combined, and unemployment remains the lowest of the metros by a 6.5 percentage point margin. This was driven by positive job growth in three of four quarters over the last year.
“Cape Town is increasingly at the heart of national economic growth, with the latest census showing our city will soon overtake Johannesburg as South Africa’s most populous city,” Hill-Lewis said.