Unemployment figures reason for concern
Unemployment is the single greatest crisis facing South Africa.
With the coming elections on Wednesday 29 May, the issue of unemployment will become a major playing card for opposition parties and will put the ruling ANC in the spotlight.
What makes this a much more volatile bone of contention for us locally, is the fact that the Limpopo Province recorded the largest increase in unemployment in the entire country. Limpopo statistics increased by 2,4% to a staggering 32,7% in comparison to 30,3% in 2023.
Statistics South Africa released their official Quarterly Labour Force Survey report on Tuesday, 14 March. This has shown a national increase in unemployment from the 4th Quarter in 2023, to the 1st Quarter of 2024 of 0.8%, from 3,1% to 32,9%.
The latest statement on unemployment figures is staggering and a serious reason for concern. The provincial expanded unemployment rate also showed an increase of 1,1%, from 46,7% in 2023 to 47,8% in 2024. Lindy Wilson, Limpopo’s Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), said in a media statement:
“The total Limpopo labour force is recorded at 2 223 000 million, 132 000 more than a year ago; 728 000 individuals are unable to find work, while 521 000 persons have given up looking for a job altogether.”
The major cuts in unemployment were seen in the Agricultural, Construction and Community and Social Services sectors, with a total of 79 000 jobs lost. She added that unemployment is the single greatest crisis facing South Africa.
Heloïse Denner, spokesperson for the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) expressed her concern and stated that the term ‘expanded unemployment’ was an euphemism, and it can be accepted that ‘there can thus be only one true unemployment number, and that is the one that indicates how many people in the country under the governance of the ANC does not have work, namely 42,98%. She added:
“The irony is that about 4 out of 10 people – maybe more – vote for the ANC because they cling to the empty promises and the fear of apartheid that keeps appearing from the ANC’s closet.”
In February during the ANC’s manifesto launch in Durban, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised that the ruling party would create 2,5 million jobs over the next five years, and it was clear that the ANC has made job creation the focal point of their election campaign. The numbers, however, do not indicate any serious efforts by the government to create new jobs. During his speech, President Ramaphosa said that South Africa’s economy has tripled in size since 1994 and the rate of poverty has reduced. But he added that there are still too many South Africans unemployed, and too many that live in poverty.
The local impact of the recently released unemployment numbers, and the proposed rate increases proposed by the Bela-Bela Municipality, can have a dire effect on the economic well-being of our community. The most recent statistics used by the municipality in their Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for 2024/25 indicate that our unemployment figure in Bela-Bela stands at 23% (of which 30% are youths).
