Employment in SA’s non-agricultural formal sector dropped by 69 000 between March and June 2018, Statistics SA announced on Wednesday in its latest Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) bulletin. The QES results are based on a sample survey conducted by Stats SA and include findings on employment in the non-agricultural formal sector. Stats SA reported that non-agricultural formal sector employment dropped from 9 817 000 in March 2018 to 9 748 000 in June 2018.
This was largely due to decreases in:
* community services (-67 000 or -2.5%);
* manufacturing (-13 000 or -1.1%);
* mining and quarrying (-2 000 or -0.4%) and
*transport (-2 000 or -0.4%).
Increases were reported in:
* trade (7 000 or 0.3%);
* business services (7 000 or 0.3%), and
* construction (1 000 or 0.2%).
QES samples are drawn from private non-agricultural businesses such as factories, firms, offices, and stores, as well as from national, provincial and local government entities. The QES bulletin is separate from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, which is also published by Stats SA. While the labour force survey gives SA’s official unemployment rate, the QES gives a snapshot of total non-agricultural formal sector employment.
Although the QES bulletin does not provide an official unemployment rate, it is easily calculated based on the recent loss of 100 000 jobs, which translated into a rise in unemployment from 26.7% to 27.2%, and therfoe the loss of a further 69 000 jobs translates into another increase in unemployment of 0.3%, bringing the total unemployment rate to 27.5%!
Here is the Unemployment in South Africa in Figures:
h3. 9.6 million
SA’s unemployed population. The current unemployment rate has worsened to 27.5% from the 27.2% rate recorded in the first quarter of the year. The highest the unemployment rate has been over the past 10 years is 27.7% – as recorded over three consecutive quarters in 2017.
h3. 6.1 million
The total number of unemployed youth, as at the end of the second quarter of 2018. The unemployment rate for youth (those aged between 15 and 34) is 38.8%, compared with 17.9% for adults (those aged between 35 and 64).
h3. 90 000
The number of jobs lost during the second quarter of 2018. The manufacturing industry accounted for the most job losses: 105 000. The most jobs, 54 000, were created in the transport industry.
h3. 35 000
The number of job losses in the formal sector, with the informal seeing more than double the losses at 73 000 jobs in the review period.
h3. 34.4%
The unemployment rate in the Free State, the highest among all nine provinces, followed by Eastern Cape (34.2%) and Mpumalanga (33.2%).
h3. 29.5%
The unemployment rate among women, compared with 25.3% for men. Consistently since 2011, the rate of unemployment among women outweighed the rate of unemployment among men, trends from Stats SA show.
h3. 45.9%
The unemployment rate for black, female youth, which is the highest among all population groups. It is followed by a rate of 37.1% for black, male youth; 36.3% for Indian/Asian female youth; and 36.1% for coloured, female youth.
h3. 31.9%
The unemployment rate for those who have an education qualification less than matric. Stats SA’s data reveals a trend of the unemployment rate decreasing among those who have higher qualifications.
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