SA women continue to shoulder burden of unemployment

Women in South Africa continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden of unemployment, underemployment and lower workforce participation compared to men.

This is partly because they are more likely to take on household duties, child-rearing and other responsibilities that limit their opportunities in the labour market.

According to Statistics SA, the trends in labour force participation and absorption rates for men and women from 2014 to 2024 indicate that fewer women have been participating in the labour market as compared to men, as demonstrated in this graph:

The data shows a general increase in labour force participation rates for men and women between the second quarter of 2014 and the second quarter of 2024. Statics SA says this increase was more substantial for women, increasing to 55.8% in 2024 from 50,9% in 2014 (up by 4,9%), indicating a narrowing of the gender gap in labour force participation.

Labour Force Participation Rates for women increased across all education levels except for those with other tertiary qualifications, who experienced a decline of 1%. The most significant increases in labour force participation were observed among women with less than a matric qualification, increasing from 40.0% to 43.1%, an increase of 3.1% and graduates, increasing from 85.7% to 87.2%, an increase of 1.5%, over the 10-year period.

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Absorption rate for women also lower than for men

However, when it comes to the absorption rate, men consistently reported higher rates than women from 2014 to 2024, with gender differences ranging from 9.0% to 12.5%. The labour absorption rate to population ratio is the proportion of the working-age population who are employed.

The absorption rate for women remained below 40.0%, declining by 1.1% from 36.9% in the second quarter of 2014 to 35.8% in 2024. The highest absorption rate for women was 38.3%, recorded in the first quarter of 2017.

The Statistics SA data also shows that absorption rates for women declined across all education levels between 2014 and 2024, with more significant drops observed among those with other tertiary qualifications (10.5%) and those with a matric qualification (6.1%). In contrast, the decline of 1.9% was less pronounced for graduates and women with less than a matric qualification.

However, the absorption rate for men rose from 48.7% in 2014 to a peak of 50.4% in the fourth quarter of 2015, before declining to 44.9% in the second quarter of 2024. Although labour force participation improved, the findings indicate that labour absorption has worsened compared to a decade ago.

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Gender disparity across all education levels

In addition, the Statistics SA data shows that gender disparity in unemployment rates persisted across all education levels in South Africa over the past ten years. Women, irrespective of their educational background, whether they have less than a matric certificate, a matric certificate, other tertiary qualifications, or a graduate degree, consistently face higher unemployment rates compared to men.

While unemployment rates for men and women across all educational categories increased during this period, the data highlights a disproportionately greater impact on women. The most significant increases were among women with other tertiary qualifications, where the unemployment rate jumped from 15.1% in 2014 to 26.9% in 2024, an increase of 11.8% and those with a matric qualification, which increased from 28.8% to 39.5%, an increase of 10.7%.

The smallest increase in unemployment was for women with graduate qualifications, with an increase of 3.8% over the decade. In the second quarter of 2024, their unemployment rate stood at 10.7%, higher than the 8.3% observed among men with similar qualifications.

Final Official Unemployment Rates by Sex and Education

The data reveals that the gap between absorption and labour force participation rates has widened for both genders.

Statistics SA says as this gap continues to grow, it suggests that a larger proportion of people entering the labour market face unemployment. For men, the gap increased from 15.2% in the second quarter of 2014 to 20.7% in 2024. For women, the gap expanded even more rapidly, rising from 14.0% to 20,0% over the same period.