Business Maverick: South Africa’s jobless rate dips slightly in Q2, survey finds 47% of women are ‘economically inactive’

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South Africa’s unemployment rate fell slightly in the second quarter to 33.9% from 34.5% in Q1. The best that can be said is that the number is at least going in the right direction. But the level remains at simply appalling levels, and the data show ...

The figures, released on Tuesday by Statistics South Africa, are a bleak reminder ahead of Wednesday’s planned nationwide stayaway that millions of South Africans are in a perilous position to confront the surging cost of living. This point will not be lost on the union federations planning a nationwide stay away on Wednesday.

“This means that almost half of the working-age women in South Africa are out of the labour force compared to 35,6% of their male counterparts. The latest global labour force participation rate for women is about 47% compared to 72% for men. The productive potential of South Africa women in the labour market remains unused,” Stats SA said.

So the gap has narrowed but remains high. This does not capture the productive contribution of women to unmeasured fields of the economy such as subsistence crop farming and other forms of informal work. But the picture that emerges is one of wide gender disparities that clearly magnify those of race.

The unemployment rate according to the expanded definition of unemployment, which includes discouraged job seekers, fell 1.4 percentage points to 44.1% – still a shocker. Many South Africans have simply given up the ghost on the jobs front.

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Must be the interest rate income being received by local SA bondholders seeping into the economy

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