Unemployment rate drops to 23,3%
South Africa’s unemployment rate decreased to 23,3% during the second quarter of 2020, down from 30,1% in the previous quarter.
Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke released the quarterly labour force survey on Tuesday.
Maluleke said the sharp decrease is not due to an improvement in the labour market, but rather the result of people being unable to look for jobs due to the lockdown.
"In essence, the national lockdown hindered people from looking for work, so this significant decline in unemployment, while employment is declining, is inherent in the official definition of unemployment," Risenga explained.
He said South Africa shed 2,2 million jobs in the second quarter.
"Formal sector employment decreased by 1,2 million, the informal sector shed 640 000 jobs. Private households shed 311 000 jobs and employment in agriculture declined by 66 000.
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"All industries experienced job losses in Quarter 2 compared to Quarter 1.
"The industries which recorded the highest job losses were community and social services (515 000), trade (373 000), private households (311 000), finance (283 000), construction (278 000) and manufacturing (250 000)."
The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those discouraged and those having other reasons for not searching such as the lockdown, increased by 2,3 percentage points to 42%.
Risenga said Stats SA also asked respondents if they were working from their usual place of work, or working from home and if they received their usual salaries.
Maluleke said 81,3% continued to receive pay during lockdown but 21,1% experience a reduction in pay.
"Of the 14,2 million persons who were employed in the second quarter of 2020, more than half were expected to work during the national lockdown.
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“Although most of those who worked during the national lockdown did so from their usual place of work, about 17,0% indicated that they worked from home.
"The majority of employed persons continued to receive pay during the lockdown. However, about one in five of them had a reduction in their pay/salary."
