Political parties are not entirely impressed with the 31.9% unemployment rate, calling for urgent steps to deal with poverty in an economy that is seeing anaemic growth. 

On Tuesday, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) results, indicating that the official unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 of a percentage point from 32.6% in the second quarter of 2023 to 31.9% in the third quarter of 2023.

The number of unemployed persons decreased by 72 000 to 7.8-million during the same quarter, while the number of employed persons increased by 399 000 to 16.7-million in the third quarter of 2023 compared to 16.3-million in the second quarter of 2023.

“Additionally, the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 160 000 to 13.1-million, while the discouraged work-seekers decreased by 26 000 in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter of 2023. This resulted in a net decrease of 186 000 in the not economically active population,” Stats SA had said.

GOOD secretary-general and Member of Parliament Brett Herron said the moderate decreases in the unemployment rate once again highlights the need for urgent steps to deal with poverty.

Herron said that these figures were simply too high, and even with a significant decrease, it is taking too long to address the issue of extreme poverty and hunger in the near future. 

“South Africa is simply not generating economic growth that creates enough employment for young people, and the government has a constitutional obligation to act,” he said.

GOOD believes a Basic Income Grant (BIG), which it has researched, is possible at R999 a month, and is the only immediate and effective step.

“This would place the BIG at about the lower-bound poverty line. As we have said before, it’s not a charitable act but a Constitutional and moral one - and it can be done,” said Herron.

Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Gauteng Economic Development MEC Patrick Atkinson explained that the Gauteng unemployment rate for the third quarter of 2023 stood at 2 557 000, which was equivalent to 33.7%.

Atkinson noted that the unemployed residents of this province were struggling to make ends meet, which had been worsened by the high cost of living coupled with loadshedding and corruption, which he said was killing the economy.

“This is a clear indication that the current government is failing to create a conducive environment for the private sector to invest and create employment opportunities. There are 611 000 discouraged job seekers in the province who have lost hope in ever finding employment opportunities. In most cases, these discouraged job seekers have qualifications and skills, yet there are no tangible opportunities,” he said.

He added that unemployment in the province was rife, despite Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s Nasi Ispani Programme, which continues to recruit unemployed youth in various sectors.

“This shows that Lesufi’s job creation initiatives are not making any difference to the unemployment rate in the province. It is high time that Lesufi replicates what the DA-led Western Cape government is doing by partnering with the private sector to create employment opportunities. For this to happen, Gauteng must cut the red tape, which will make it easy for the private sector to invest in the economy and do business with the government,” Atkinson said.

Stats SA explained that while the youth remained vulnerable in the labour market, the third quarter of 2023 results showed that the total number of unemployed youth (15–34 years) decreased by 174 000 to 4.6-million, while there was an increase of 237 000 in the number of employed youth to 6-million.

“This resulted in a decrease in the youth unemployment rate by 1.9 percentage points from 45.3% in quarter two of 2023 to 43.4% in quarter three of 2023.”