South Africa’s unemployment rate decreased to 32.1% in the third quarter of 2024 from 33.5% in the second quarter, according to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey. Their expanded unemployment rate also fell by 0.7% to 41.9% for the same period. Director of Labour Statistics, Dihlolelo Phoshoko, announced an increase of 294,000 in the number of employed persons, bringing employment to 16.9 million in the third quarter of 2024. She also noted a decrease of 373,000 in the number of unemployed persons, lowering it to 8 million, therefore resulting in a decrease of the labour force by 0.3%.

Interestingly, there was an increase of 160,000 in discouraged work-seekers, up by 5%, and the number of those who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement increased by 54,000. These changes resulted in an increase of 214,000 in the number of the not economically active population to 16.5 million.

Further, Phoshoko noted an increase of 122,000 in formal sector jobs and an increase of 165,000 in informal sector employment during the same period. The provinces of Eastern Cape, Western Cape, North West and Mpumalanga recorded the largest increases in employment, whereas Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal experienced decreases.

Concerning youth unemployment, the data shows a decrease from 46.6% to 45.5% in the third quarter. Despite the overall improvements in South Africa’s employment situation, Phoshoko emphasized that the youth remains vulnerable in the labor market.

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