Less than half of working-age South Africans are employed
IRR’s 2017 South Africa Survey shows unemployment among black adults is four to five times higher than among whites
Only four in 10 people of working age have a job in SA — and if you are under-qualified‚ your chances of earning a salary are much lower. A dramatic increase in the number of unemployed people is quantified in the 2017 South Africa Survey‚ published by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) on Monday‚ based on Statistics SA data.IRR employment analyst Gabriela Mackay said: "Just 43.3% of South Africans of working age are employed. The figure is lowest for black South Africans‚ who demonstrate a labour market absorption rate of just 40.4%. "These figures are low‚ especially when compared with many similar economies."The labour market absorption rate measures the proportion of people of working age who are employed. The IRR found SA’s absorption rate depends largely on a person’s level of education. The absorption rate for people with a tertiary education is 75.6%‚ while that for people with matric as their highest level of education is 50.3%.Using Stats SA data, the IRR’s South Africa...
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