Unemployment and employment statistics in South Africa for the year 2023
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the official unemployment rate stood at 32.1%. Data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) revealed that the number of employed people dropped by 22,000, bringing the total to 16.7 million compared to the third quarter of the same year. At the same time, the number of unemployed individuals increased by 46,000, reaching 7.9 million. Furthermore, the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement rose by 218,000 to 13.4 million. However, the number of discouraged work-seekers decreased by 107,000 in the fourth quarter, resulting in an overall increase of 111,000 in the not economically active population.
These shifts in employment and unemployment led to a slight rise in the official unemployment rate by 0.2 percentage points, moving from 31.9% in the third quarter to 32.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023. On the other hand, the unemployment rate based on the expanded definition, which includes discouraged work-seekers, fell by 0.1 percentage points, bringing it to 41.1% during the same period.
There were notable changes within specific sectors. Formal sector employment saw a decline of 128,000 jobs, while the informal sector grew, adding 124,000 jobs. Key industries that experienced a drop in employment include Community and social services, which lost 171,000 jobs; Construction, down by 36,000; Agriculture, down by 35,000; Trade, down by 28,000; and Manufacturing, which saw a slight decrease of 1,000 jobs. Conversely, industries such as Finance, which gained 128,000 jobs; Transport, up by 57,000; Mining, which added 37,000 jobs; and Private households, with a gain of 18,000 jobs, experienced employment growth.
On a provincial level, Eastern Cape saw the largest employment decline, losing 111,000 jobs. Limpopo, North West, and Northern Cape also experienced job losses, shedding 40,000, 30,000, and 2,000 jobs, respectively. However, KwaZulu-Natal recorded the largest employment increase with 62,000 new jobs, followed by Mpumalanga with 48,000, and Western Cape with 23,000.
Youth between the ages of 15 and 34 remain particularly vulnerable in the labor market. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of unemployed youth increased by 87,000, bringing the total to 4.7 million, while the number of employed youth dropped by 97,000 to 5.9 million. This resulted in a 0.9 percentage point rise in the youth unemployment rate, moving from 43.4% in the third quarter to 44.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
These findings were issued by Statistics South Africa.