While most political parties welcomed the slight decrease in the unemployment rate which was announced on Tuesday, there was a call for the continuous implementation of structural economic reforms under the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Tuesday said the official unemployment rate decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 32.1% in the third quarter of 2024, down from a two-year high of 33.5% in the second quarter.
The quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) showed that there was an increase of 294 000 in the number of employed persons to 16.9 million in the three months to September, while there was a decrease of 373 000 in the number of unemployed persons to 8.0 million during the same period.
Stats SA said this resulted in a decrease of 79 000 (down by 0.3%) in the labour force during the same period.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli welcomed the results of the QLFS, noting that the total number of unemployed youth (age 15 – 34) fell by 171 000 to 4.8 million while employed youth increased by 66 000 to 5.8 million.
As a result, the youth unemployment rate eased slightly from 46.6% in the second quarter of 2024 to 45.5% in the third quarter of 2024.
“This marks a significant step forward for our economy. The decline in the unemployment rate is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our government working with all relevant stakeholders,” Mhlauli said.
“The Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan (ERRP) and Operation Vulindlela initiated by President [Cyril] Ramaphosa have been instrumental in driving economic growth and job creation. We are pleased to see these efforts yielding positive results.”
However, Stats SA said discouraged work-seekers rose by 160 000 or up by 5.0%, and the number of persons who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement increased by 54 000 or 0.4% between the second quarter and third quarter.
This led to an increase of 214 000 in the number of the not-economically active population to 16.5 million.
As a result of these changes, the expanded unemployment rate in the third quarter eased by 0.7 of a percentage point to 41.9% when compared with the second quarter.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said the greenshoots in jobs numbers must accelerate economic reform.
“These results, however, must be viewed more broadly. Our youth unemployment continues to sit unacceptably high at 43.2%. This is why the DA has fought strongly for pro-jobs measures to be included in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, unveiled recently,” Steenhuisen said.
This was a sentiment also shared by the Free Market Foundation (FMF), which yesterday implored the GNU to urgently adopt structural reforms to the South African labour market.
Dr Morné Malan, deputy head of policy at the FMF, said the slight decrease in unemployment was most likely ascribable to favourable sentiment surrounding the GNU, but not to any policy reform of note that would be necessary to help the more than 8 million unemployed to find work.
“We need not and, in fact, cannot be satisfied with meagre improvements in unemployment statistics when millions still find it impossible to enter into the labour market,” Malan said.
ANC national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, said the positive outcome was a result of the policies that have been in place for a number of years.
“Now we are starting to reap the fruits of that in the seventh administration of government,” she said.
She however, disagreed about the GNU playing any role in the matter. “To create just one single job is a function of work that happens over a period of time. It is a function of how the economy acts as a catalyst for job creation. Surely, those things do not happen over six months, or even a year for that matter,” she said.
IFP national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the decrease in the unemployment rate was a clear indication of the change of trajectory in the country.
“A new government that is providing stability and economic certainty to markets, investors, and employers, and it is an opportunity for the country to turn things around,” he said.
Hlengwa said while this is a positive indicator, it does not mean that we are out of the woods.
“It is an important leap in the right direction, and we need to build on these gains,” he said.
Nhlamulo Ndhela, MK Party spokesperson said the slight decrease was nothing to celebrate as South Africa has a Gini coefficient of around 0.67, which is one of the highest if not the highest in the world and indicated a high level of income inequality.
“The so called GNU is coalition of convenience whose policies are dichotomous in their nature. Job creation and employment being at the centre of their failure.”