Civil society organisations say that despite more than four months respite from load shedding, it has significantly contributed to the highest unemployment rate in two years.
The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics SA on Tuesday found that the official unemployment rate increased by 0.6 of a percentage point to 33.5% and that there were about 158 000 more people who were unemployed.
The number of unemployed people has increased to 8.4 million. Black Sash KZN regional manager Evashnee Naidu said unemployment has been steadily increasing year-on-year, despite certain sporadic growth in some quarters.
Naidu said post-Covid has seen a significant impact on households becoming poorer and people pushed into the fringes of poverty due to the lack of growth in the economy leading to job losses, food inflation and higher fuel prices.
She said South Africans were suffering and there has been no dedicated support initiative from the government to cushion these financial blows.
Load shedding hindered growth and productivity, causing business closures, she said, adding that this was exacerbated by the impact of Covid, food prices and other factors.
“Despite load shedding being suspended for the last few months, its impact over the years has destroyed small businesses in particular, which provide support and employment within local communities and where the impact of poverty is felt the most,” said Naidu.
Director of the Social Policy Initiative (SPI) Isobel Frye, said the unemployment rate does not include the 3.195 million discouraged work-seekers who have given up looking and the rate should therefore be 42.6%.
Frye said the unemployment rate of 42.6% was last seen in Q4 2020 when the country was reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown.
“The crisis currently faced by South Africans is the knock-on impact of the lack of electricity. This was not an external, but an internal crisis. The government’s poor planning and the corruption is blamed by current Eskom management for what has happened over the last few years,” she added.
Frye said employment is the primary source of access to income for most people.
“With the heightened loss of jobs, more people are thrust into poverty and hopelessness, and their dependants too,” she said.
The survey found that youth aged 15-24 and 25-34 continue to have the highest unemployment rates at 60.8% and 41.7% respectively.
ANC Youth League secretary-general Mntuwoxolo Ngudle, said the youth were the future, however, they were consistently confronted by an economy that marginalises them.
Ngudle said unemployment impedes societal contributions, family support, and sustainable futures.
He added that in the long-term families, communities, and the very fabric of society were affected.
Johann Els, Old Mutual Group chief economist, said the unemployment situation was dismal – as it has been for many years.
“The economy hasn’t yet fully recovered from the impact of Covid and the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.
Els said he was looking forward to increased confidence after the elections as a result of policy change and policy implementation which will be accelerated with the GNU.
“Yes, the data is not great, but the data (unemployment) should improve going forward with better, more sustained economic growth.”
The Mercury