South Africa now has more unemployed people than people receiving a paycheck

There are now more unemployed people in South Africa than there are people who receive a paycheck every month.

This is one of the findings of economist Mike Schussler, who was commenting on Latest South African Unemployment Figures.

The Quarterly Labor Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2020 revealed that unemployment in South Africa has soared to 30.8%, an increase of 7.5% from the second quarter.

The number of people employed in the formal sector, who normally receive a monthly paycheck, decreased from 11.2 million to 10.3 million over the past year.

Using the expanded definition of unemployment, there are now 11.1 million people of working age who are unemployed.

This means that there are now more unemployed people in South Africa than there are people employed in the formal sector.

What is even more worrying is that the private sector employs only about 8 million people who must create most of the economic value of the country.

Schussler said that this precarious situation means that self-employment will have to become a more important part of our thinking.

“The few actually provide for the many. We must start preparing many to believe that they can create their own income and opportunities, as the private formal sector is too small, ”he said.

The following table provides an overview of the latest employment figures based on the expanded definition of unemployment.

Now read: South Africa’s unemployment rate rises to 30.8%