Labour force participation rate declines

28 Mar '08

1 min read

In September 2007 there were: 30 413 000 persons aged 15–65 years comprising the labour market, of which:
- 13 234 000 persons were employed
- 3 945 000 persons were unemployed (official definition)
- 13 235 000 persons were not economically active
- 17 178 000 persons were in the labour force or economically active
- 3 425 000 persons were discouraged work-seekers

• In terms of the annual change in employment, an additional 433 000 people were employed in the year to September 2007.
• In September 2007, the reversal of the downward trend in agricultural employment continued and employment in the industry increased by 76 000 - solely on account of formal sector agriculture.
• The unemployment rate declined from 25.5% in September 2006 to 23.0% in September 2007.
• The percentage of working-age South Africans with jobs rose from 42.7% in September 2006 to 43.5% in September 2007.
• The labour force participation rate declined from 57.3% in September 2006 to 56.5% in September 2007.
• In the year to September 2007, the number of discouraged work-seekers increased. This coupled with the decline in unemployment, suggests that people that had been previously looking for work gave up hope of finding employment.

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