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We take a look at the latest Quarterly Labor Force Survey (QLFS) data as published by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) and focus on the number of people seen as employed and unemployed per province in South Africa for the 4th quarter of 2019.
Which province has the most number of people employed or which province has the most number of people unemployed. We take a look below. |
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So how many people are employed and unemployed in South Africa and its provinces
First up lets take a look at the number of people seen as employed and unemployed in South Africa as a whole as at end of the 4th quarter 2019.
Employed Unemployed
Total for South Africa 16 420 000 6 726 000
So in total there were 16.42 million people employed in South Africa in the 4th quarter of 2019, while there were 6.726 million people that were unemployed. And that is a seriously concerning number. South Africa's government, business and citizens should be really worried about the large number of people that are currently unemployed in South Africa. They create a burden on the government who has to carry them in terms of grants, health care etc.
They create a burden on those who are working due to their dependence on those working to help them out financially (an employed family member assisting and helping out unemployed family members). This dependence takes money away from other potential spending by working citizens, which affects overall levels of spending and therefore overall economic growth.
Employed Unemployed
Total for South Africa 16 420 000 6 726 000
So in total there were 16.42 million people employed in South Africa in the 4th quarter of 2019, while there were 6.726 million people that were unemployed. And that is a seriously concerning number. South Africa's government, business and citizens should be really worried about the large number of people that are currently unemployed in South Africa. They create a burden on the government who has to carry them in terms of grants, health care etc.
They create a burden on those who are working due to their dependence on those working to help them out financially (an employed family member assisting and helping out unemployed family members). This dependence takes money away from other potential spending by working citizens, which affects overall levels of spending and therefore overall economic growth.
The below shows the number employed and unemployed people per province in South Africa for the 4th quarter of 2019 sorted from most number of employees to least number of employees
Employed Unemployed
Employed Unemployed
- Gauteng: 5 098 000 2 271 000
- KwaZulu-Natal: 2 664 000 890 000
- Western Cape: 2 518 000 665 000
- Limpopo: 1 400 000 421 000
- Eastern Cape: 1 384 000 904 000
- Mpumalanga: 1 244 000 629 000
- North West: 992 000 401 000
- Free State: 785 000 423 000
- Northern Cape: 335 000 123 000
Readers will immediately notice that the number of people employed in Gauteng (South Africa's smallest province in terms of square meters) is far greater than any of the other provinces in South Africa. The flip side of the coin is the fact that Gauteng also has the most number of people that are deemed as unemployed. Part of the reason for this is the fact that Gauteng has by far the biggest population (even though it is the smallest province in terms of land size). People move to Gauteng in their millions as they seek job and employment opportunities. This leads to the large population in Gauteng as well as the large number of employed (and unemployed people in the province). In recent years with the slow economic growth in South Africa jobs are not being created fast enough in South Africa to accommodate the large number of people seeking working, and with a large chunk of work seekers being in Gauteng, it is to be expected that Gauteng will have the most number of unemployed people in South Africa.
A worrying sign in the data above is the ratio of employed vs unemployed in the province of Eastern Cape. The province has 1.384 million people employed and it has 904 000 people that are seen as unemployed. That is 1.53 people employed for every unemployed person in the Eastern Cape. To put it into context the Western Cape has 3.8 people employed for every unemployed person, and Limpopo has 3.3 people employed for every unemployed person.
This shows the level of unemployment in the Eastern Cape. And as mentioned earlier the impact of those unemployed on government and the working population is significant and based on this it affects the Eastern Cape.
This shows the level of unemployment in the Eastern Cape. And as mentioned earlier the impact of those unemployed on government and the working population is significant and based on this it affects the Eastern Cape.