South Africa’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 31.9% in 2024, Mzansi Questions Stats SA’s Official Figure
- Stats SA revealed that the unemployment rate dropped from 32.1% in Q3 of 2024 to 31.9 in Q4 of 2024
- Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng accounted for the largest increases in employment
- South Africans didn't believe the stats and questioned why Stats SA was lying to the people
Source: Getty Images
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues.
Only 31.9% of South Africans are currently employed according to Stats SA, a figure many have disputed.
Stats SA stated that according to its Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), the unemployment rate decreased slightly. In Q2 of 2024, the rate was 32.1% but decreased by 0.2 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In Q1 of the financial year, the rate stood at 32.9%, with 8.2 million people without a job.
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132,000 more people employed in final quarter
Stats SA also noted that there was an increase of 132,000 in the number of employed persons in the country in Q4 of 2024. The number of employed people is now 17.1 million. The number of unemployed persons also decreased by 20,000, with now only 8.0 million officially unemployed.
Stats SA also noted that the number of persons employed in the formal sector went up by 90,000, while 34,000 were employed in the informal sector.
Job seekers flock to Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng
According to Stats SA, the largest increases in employment came in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng.
The largest decreases happened in the Free State, Limpopo, and the North West.
Another concern raised by the stats was the issue of youth employment. According to the stats for Q4 of 2024, the total number of unemployed youths stands at 4.7 million.
The number of employed youth increased slightly by 37,000 and now stands at 5.8 million. As a result, the youth unemployment rate stands at 44.6% in Q4 of 2024.
South Africans don’t agree with statistics
Social media users didn’t celebrate the decrease, instead questioning the accuracy of it.
@Geeza_Thabs asked:
“Why are you lying to the nation? Where are those people employed?”
@strydomobile exclaimed:
“0.2%, nice. At this rate, you will be at 5% unemployment in 33 years without any setback. I'll be close to retiring then.”
@Mandla_Mtungwa1 added:
“This government is lying. There is no unemployment rate that falls here. Statistics SA is protecting the government of Cyril Ramaphosa.”
@mlondoloziButh claimed:
“Nothing falls. It's a political calculation. The real rate is 75%.”
@mfundo_mpanza added:
“This is all a lie. Many people are unemployed.”
@FelixKambule stated:
“Lies. It's 50% plus.”
@Giles43235302 asked:
“It fell 0.2%? That isn't by very much 😂. Desperate for positive news much?”
Economy expert weighs in on unemployment
In a related article, Wits University economist Dr Kenneth Creamer weighed in on the unemployment stats.
Dr Cremer spoke to Briefly News about the increase, saying the figures reversed a trend in which more people were getting jobs.
Despite the increase in the unemployed, Dr Creamer expressed hope that the employment rate will increase in the coming months.
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Source: Briefly News
