Latest Stats SA Labor Force Survey Evidence Regression of Social Transformation Agenda
The Office of the BMF Presidency
August 14, 2024
The Black Management Forum (BMF) of South Africa registers, with concern, the findings of the second quarterly labour force survey (QLFS) which was recently released by Stats SA. The report underscores a significant decrease in the economically active which signals a regression in the social transformation agenda. According to Stats SA, the expanded unemployment rate now sits at 42.6 percent. The BMF notes, with alarm, the employment losses in the formal sector, agriculture, private households, and construction while informal sector employment rose significantly. This trend evidences the deepening of the two-economies and a loss of public confidence in the mainstream economy which is supported by a rise in discouraged work seekers to 147 000.
Women and youth continue to bear the brunt of poor economic performance and rising unemployment and Stats SA notes that, while labour force participation amongst women increased to 55.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024, the participation rate amongst men remains higher. A worrying trend, linked to the increased informalization of the economy, is the disparities in economic participation rate between women with less than a matric qualification and those with a matric and/or tertiary qualification which demonstrates a higher demand for unskilled women and continued blocks to meaningful economic participation for educated and skilled women.
Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) present, by far, the biggest challenge to the country’s economic growth and development and Stats SA registered 10.3 million youth (aged between 15 and 24) of which 35.3 percent were not employed or registered at an educational or training facility. Regional disparities persist and the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Free State continues to be the least developed economies in South Africa. The BMF is of the view that unemployment is
2
nothing short of a national crisis and requires an urgent and progressive response. South Africa’s economy is slimly escaping recession but, according to Stats SA, has re-entered a decline. We cannot approach the triple burden of poverty, inequality, and unemployment with a ‘business as usual’ approach. The BMF calls on the Government of National Unity and all stakeholders to come together in solidarity in pursuance of an inclusive economy that creates jobs for all who are economically marginalized at this time.
BMF further urges the private and public sector to approach the crisis of unemployment and economic stagnancy with a resolve and creativity to create a prosperous economy where all South Africans have the power to transform their individual lives. In this regard, the BMF urges the private and public sector to look at drawing up a road-map for job creation, skills development, overhauling state-owned-enterprises, re-industrialising the economy, diversifying industries, and sector-wide moves to more labour-intensive practices to absorb the vast and growing unemployed.
