South Africa Unemployment Rate

The unemployment rate in South Africa increased to 29 percent in the second quarter of 2019 from 27.6 in the previous period. It was the highest jobless rate since the first quarter of 2003, as the number of unemployed rose by 455 thousand to 6.65 million and employment rose by 21 thousand to 16.31 million. A year earlier, the jobless rate was lower at 27.2 percent. Unemployment Rate in South Africa averaged 25.71 percent from 2000 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 31.20 percent in the first quarter of 2003 and a record low of 21.50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Unemployment Rate in South Africa is expected to be 28.50 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Unemployment Rate in South Africa to stand at 27.70 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the South Africa Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 29.00 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.

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Calendar	GMT		Actual	Previous	TEForecast
2018-10-30	09:30 AM	Unemployment Rate Q3	27.5%	27.2%	27.4%
2019-02-12	09:30 AM	Unemployment Rate Q4	27.1%	27.5%	27.40%
2019-05-14	09:30 AM	Unemployment Rate Q1	27.6%	27.1%	27.60%
2019-07-30	09:30 AM	Unemployment Rate Q2	29%	27.6%	27.80%
2019-10-29	09:30 AM	Unemployment Rate Q3		29%	28.5%

South Africa Jobless Rate Highest since 2003

The unemployment rate in South Africa increased to 29 percent in the second quarter of 2019 from 27.6 in the previous period. It was the highest jobless rate since the first quarter of 2003, as the number of unemployed rose by 455 thousand to 6.65 million and employment rose by 21 thousand to 16.31 million.

The number of unemployed advanced by 455 thousand to 6.65 million from 6.20 million in the first quarter of the year. Employment went up by 21 thousand to 16.31 million from 16.29 million in the prior period. Job losses were recorded in the formal sector (-49 thousand) and private households (-49 thousand) while gains ocurred in the informal sector (+114 thousand) and agriculture (+5 thousand).

The labour force also increased by 476 thousand to 22.97 miliion from 22.49 million in the previous quarter and those detached from it rose by 3 thousand to 15.47 million from 15.79 million.

The expanded definition of unemployment, including people who have stopped looking for work, went up to 38.54 percent in the second quarter of 2019 from 38 percent in the first quarter.

By genders, the jobless rate advanced for both women (31.3 percent from 29.3 percent in Q1) and men (27.12 percent from 26.1 percent). Also, the youth unemployment rate continued to rise to 56.4 percent from 55.2 percent in the prior period.

A year earlier, the jobless rate was lower at 27.2 percent.

Statistics South Africa | Stefanie Moya | stefanie.moya@tradingeconomics.com
7/30/2019 10:18:21 AM

News

South Africa Jobless Rate at 1-1/2-Year High of 27.6%
The unemployment rate in South Africa rose to 27.6 percent in the first quarter of 2019 from 27.1 percent in the previous period. It is the highest jobless rate since Q3 2017, as the number of unemployed went up by 62 thousand to 6.20 million and employment fell by 237 thousand to 16.29 million. The unemployment rate usually rises in the first quarter of the year, as temporary staff hired to work over the busy festive season is dismissed. However, a year earlier, the jobless rate was lower at 26.7 percent.
Published on 2019-05-14

South Africa Jobless Rate Drops to 27.1% in Q4
The unemployment rate in South Africa decreased to 27.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 from 27.5 percent in the previous period. The unemployment rate usually falls in the last quarter of the year, due to higher job activity during the festive season. However, a year earlier, the jobless rate was lower at 26.7 percent.
Published on 2019-02-12

South Africa Jobless Rate Highest in a Year
The unemployment rate in South Africa rose to 27.5 percent in the third quarter of 2018 from 27.2 percent in the previous period. It was the highest jobless rate since the third quarter of 2017, as the number of unemployed increased by 127 thousand to 6.21 million. Meantime, the number of employed advanced by 92 thousand to 16.38 million.
Published on 2018-10-30

South Africa Jobless Rate Rises to 27.2% in Q2
The unemployment rate in South Africa increased to 27.2 percent in the second quarter of 2018 from 26.7 percent in the previous period. The number of unemployed rose by 103 thousand to 6.08 million while the number of employed fell by 90 thousand to 16.29 million.
Published on 2018-07-31

South Africa Labour	Last	Previous	Highest	Lowest	Unit
Unemployment Rate	29.00	27.60	31.20	21.50	percent	[+]
Employed Persons	10174000.00	10152000.00	10174000.00	3694977.00		[+]
Unemployed Persons	6655.30	6200.79	6655.30	3873.00	Thousand	[+]
Labor Force Participation Rate	59.80	58.80	60.80	53.60	percent	[+]
Labour Costs	156.20	155.20	156.20	1.00	Index Points	[+]
Wages	20855.00	21190.00	21190.00	6742.00	ZAR/Month	[+]
Wages in Manufacturing	18167.00	18510.00	18510.00	6250.00	ZAR/Month	[+]
Population	58.78	57.73	58.78	17.46	Million	[+]
Retirement Age Women	60.00	60.00	60.00	60.00		[+]
Retirement Age Men	60.00	60.00	65.00	60.00		[+]
Wages Low Skilled	4380.00	3960.00	4380.00	3840.00	ZAR/Month	[+]
Youth Unemployment Rate	56.40	55.20	56.40	48.80	percent	[+]
Wages High Skilled	22600.00	20300.00	22600.00	19000.00	ZAR/Month	[+]
Living Wage Family	11300.00	10700.00	11300.00	10700.00	ZAR/Month	[+]
Living Wage Individual	6570.00	6140.00	6570.00	6140.00	ZAR/Month	[+]
Employment Rate	42.44	42.56	46.17	41.00	percent	[+]

In South Africa, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force. This page provides - South Africa Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. South Africa Unemployment Rate - actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2019.

	Actual	Previous	Highest	Lowest	Dates	Unit	Frequency
	29.00	27.60	31.20	21.50	2000 - 2019	percent	Quarterly	SA

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Country	Last		Previous	Range
South Africa	29.00	Jun/19	27.6	31.2 : 21.5	%
Spain	14.02	Jun/19	14.7	26.94 : 4.41	%
Turkey	13.00	Jun/19	12.8	14.8 : 7.3	%
Brazil	11.80	Jul/19	12	13.7 : 6.2	%
Argentina	10.60	Jun/19	10.1	20.8 : 5.9	%
Italy	9.90	Jul/19	9.8	13.1 : 5.8	%
France	8.50	Jun/19	8.7	10.7 : 7.2	%
Euro Area	7.50	Jul/19	7.5	12.1 : 7.3	%
India	6.00	Dec/18	5	8.3 : 3.53	%
Canada	5.70	Aug/19	5.7	13.1 : 2.9	%
Saudi Arabia	5.60	Jun/19	5.7	6.3 : 4.35	%
Australia	5.30	Aug/19	5.2	11.2 : 4	%
Indonesia	5.01	Mar/19	5.34	11.24 : 2	%
Russia	4.30	Aug/19	4.5	14.1 : 4.3	%
United Kingdom	3.80	Jul/19	3.9	12 : 3.4	%
Mexico	3.70	Jul/19	3.6	6.42 : 2.22	%
United States	3.70	Aug/19	3.7	10.8 : 2.5	%
China	3.61	Jun/19	3.67	4.3 : 3.61	%
Netherlands	3.50	Aug/19	3.4	7.9 : 3.3	%
South Korea	3.10	Aug/19	4	7.1 : 3	%
Germany	3.00	Jul/19	3.1	11.5 : 0.4	%
Japan	2.20	Jul/19	2.3	5.5 : 1	%
Singapore	2.20	Jun/19	2.2	6 : 1.4	%
Switzerland	2.10	Aug/19	2.1	5.7 : 1.5	%