Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has released its latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q2 2021 and as has been the case in recent years, the unemployment figures make for grim reading.

To that end, Stats SA confirms that the unemployment rate has increase by 1.8 percent from the previous quarter to 34.4 percent. The key findings show that increased by 584 000 to 7.8 million compared to the first quarter of 2021.

“The number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 186 000 (5,9%) and the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 571 000 (4.5%) between the two quarters resulting in a net decrease of 386 000 in the not economically active population,” the organisation’s key findings illuminate.

Along with the grim outlook for the local employment landscape, Stats SA offered up some figures in terms of different demographics too, with men more likely to be employed then women. When viewed against the backdrop of August being Women’s Month, these statistics are even more concerning.

“The proportion of men in employment is higher than that of women; more men than women are participating in the labour market as the labour force participation rate of men is higher than that of women; and the unemployment rate among men is lower than amongst women,” explains Stats SA.

“The rate of unemployment among women was 36,8% in the second quarter of 2021 compared to 32,4% amongst men according to the official definition of unemployment. The unemployment rate among black African women was 41,0% during this period compared to 8,2% among white women, 22,4% among Indian/Asian women and 29,9% among coloured women,” it adds.

No matter which we you slice it, those exiting Matric or completing a tertiary qualification are being increasingly met with a dire situation and serious lack of prospects in terms of employment.

Given that this has been the situation for several years now, these latest figures do not offer much optimism in terms of things changing.

You can download the full Stats SA report here (PDF) and inspect the unemployment figures for yourself.

[Image – Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash]