Unemployment increased again in first quarter

Unemployment increased again in the first quarter of 2024, from 32.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 32.9%, while the unemployment rate according to the expanded definition also increased by 0.8 of a percentage point to 41.9% compared to the fourth quarter.

According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, for the first quarter of 2024 released by Statistics SA on Tuesday, the youth, defined as people between the ages of 15 and 34, remain vulnerable in the labour market.

The first quarter results show that the total number of unemployed youth increased by 236 000 to 4.9 million while there was a decrease of 7 000 in the number of employed youth to 5.9 million. This resulted in an increase in the youth unemployment rate by 1.3 percentage points from 44.3% in the fourth quarter to 45.5%.

The results of the survey indicate that the number of employed people increased by 22 000 to 16.7 million in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter.

The number of unemployed people increased by 330 000 to 8.2 million during the first quarter, while the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 214 000 to 13.1 million and discouraged work-seekers decreased by 1 000. This resulted in a net decrease of 215 000 in the not economically active population.

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More jobs added in formal sector, more lost in informal sector

Formal sector employment increased by 56 000 in the first quarter, while informal sector employment decreased by 100 000. The industries that contributed to the net employment increase include:

• Trade that increased by 109 000
• Manufacturing increased by 99 000
• Private households increased by 44 000
• Transport increased by 39 000
• Agriculture increased by 21 000 and
• Mining increased by 9 000.

Employment losses were recorded in community and social services that lost 122 000 jobs, construction that lost 106 000 jobs, finance that lost 50 000 jobs and utilities that lost 17 000 jobs.

Provinces that recorded increases in employment were KwaZulu-Natal (35 000), Gauteng (26 000) and Northern Cape (4 000) when compared to the fourth quarter.

Decreases in employment were recorded in the Western Cape (17 000), followed by North West (13 000), Mpumalanga (8 000), Eastern Cape (4 000) and Limpopo (3 000), while the Free State remained unchanged.

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