QLFS Q3 2024 Highlights: Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and North West Drive South Africa’s Employment Rise
South Africa’s labour market displayed remarkable resilience in the third quarter of 2024, with an employment rise of 294,000 to a total of 16.9 million employed individuals. This improvement, reflected in the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), underscores the nation’s ongoing efforts to combat unemployment and promote economic growth. Notably, the Eastern Cape led the charge with a significant employment increase of 83,000, marking it as the province with the highest job growth for the period.
Employment Growth in Q3 2024: Provincial and Sectoral Highlights
The QLFS Q3 report reveals a mixed but promising landscape across South Africa’s provinces. Following the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and North West reported notable increases of 75,000 and 69,000 jobs, respectively. However, the data also shows that some provinces faced challenges: Gauteng recorded a decline of 66,000 jobs, while KwaZulu-Natal saw a slight reduction of 2,000.
In terms of sector-specific performance, the Community and Social Services sector topped the growth chart, adding 194,000 jobs, followed by Construction with 176,000 jobs, and Trade, which grew by 109,000 jobs. Despite these gains, certain sectors experienced downturns, with Finance shedding 189,000 jobs, and the Manufacturing and Transport sectors seeing slight declines as well.
Shifts in Unemployment and Economic Activity
The official unemployment rate decreased by 1.4 percentage points, moving from 33.5% in Q2 to 32.1% in Q3. This shift was bolstered by a decline of 373,000 unemployed individuals, bringing the total number of unemployed to 8.0 million. The expanded unemployment rate also showed progress, decreasing by 0.7 percentage points to 41.9%.
In a noteworthy development, the number of discouraged work-seekers rose by 160,000, and the non-economically active population increased by 214,000, reaching 16.5 million. These figures highlight the need for targeted interventions to re-engage discouraged job seekers and support vulnerable groups.
Youth Employment: Modest Gains, But Challenges Persist
Youth employment also saw some improvement. In Q3, the number of employed young people (ages 15–34) increased by 66,000 to 5.8 million, while the number of unemployed youth fell by 171,000, resulting in a youth unemployment rate of 45.5%, a slight decrease from the previous quarter’s 46.6%. Although these figures indicate progress, the youth demographic remains highly vulnerable, emphasizing the importance of targeted youth employment programs.
South Africa’s Q3 2024 labour market data presents a cautiously optimistic picture. With significant contributions from key provinces like the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and North West, the country’s employment landscape is showing encouraging trends. However, regional disparities and the rise in discouraged work-seekers underline the complexities of South Africa’s economic recovery. As the nation moves forward, sustained focus on job creation and re-skilling initiatives will be essential to ensure inclusive growth and long-term stability.
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