"These results are reflective of a struggling economy suffering high job losses and high levels of economic inactivity, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions and, more recently, the July 2021 social unrest that some parts of the country experienced, which led to some businesses being permanently closed," said the report.
The trade and community services industries are among those that shed jobs in the second and third quarters of 2021. "Between the second and third quarters of 2021, the number of employed persons decreased in all industries except finance, where employment increased by 138,000.
"The trade industry shed 309,000 jobs, followed by community and social services with 210,000, and construction and private households with 65,000 each. The formal sector was the most affected by job losses while job gains were recorded in the informal sector (an increase of 9,000)," said the report.
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the two provinces at the centre of the July unrest, accounted for nearly 50% of jobs losses in the third quarter.
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Gauteng, KZN account for nearly 50% of jobs losses in third quarter
Image: Lubabalo Lesolle
Politicians and civil society have again called on government to turn around the unemployment crisis in SA following the latest StatsSA report.
The Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the third quarter of 2021 revealed that SA’s unemployment rate had hit a new record high of 34.9%.
The report revealed the number of employed people decreased by 660,000 in the third quarter to 14.3-million.
The official unemployment rate increased from 34.4% in the second quarter to 34.9% in the third quarter. This is the highest since the start of the report in 2008.
The report said the high unemployment figures were exacerbated by the July unrest in which millions of businesses were looted and destroyed.
"There was an increase in the number of discouraged work-seekers (up by 545,000) and an increase in the number of those that are not economically active (NEA) for reasons other than discouragement (up by 443,000), resulting in a net increase of 988,000 in the NEA population over this period.
"These results are reflective of a struggling economy suffering high job losses and high levels of economic inactivity, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions and, more recently, the July 2021 social unrest that some parts of the country experienced, which led to some businesses being permanently closed," said the report.
The trade and community services industries are among those that shed jobs in the second and third quarters of 2021. "Between the second and third quarters of 2021, the number of employed persons decreased in all industries except finance, where employment increased by 138,000.
"The trade industry shed 309,000 jobs, followed by community and social services with 210,000, and construction and private households with 65,000 each. The formal sector was the most affected by job losses while job gains were recorded in the informal sector (an increase of 9,000)," said the report.
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the two provinces at the centre of the July unrest, accounted for nearly 50% of jobs losses in the third quarter.
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