Johannesburg, 30 July 2019 – The increase in the number of unemployed people in South Africa calls for urgent interventions to address the scourge, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) Economist Marique Kruger said today.
Speaking after Statistics South Africa (Stats SA’s) release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Quarter 2, which reflects a further increase in the number of unemployed people in the domestic economy, Ms Kruger said the Federation was extremely concerned about the increase in the unemployment rate and called on policymakers to come up with more targeted interventions to address the unemployment challenge.
The QLFS is a household-based sample survey that captures labour market activities of persons aged 15-64 years. The data shows that following an increase in the labour force participation rate by 0.7 percentage points from Q2 2018 to Q2 2019, the unemployment rate also increased from 27.2 percent to 29.0 percent. Compared to a year ago, the data also shows that employment increased by 25 000, while unemployment alarmingly increased by 573 000, leading to a net year-on-year unemployed persons of 548 000.