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In this economy, how likely are
The official unemployment rate in eThekwini Municipality declined by 5.1% between 2017 q3 and 2018 q3. The official unemployment rate for KwaZulu-Natal Province and South Africa also declined, but to a lesser extent.
Data stories
Labour Market Overview
Introduction
In Q3, the Durban labour market showed signs of depression.
| New Entrants | The loss of new jobs was severe but the size of the labour market declined even more (-34 000 new entrants vs -12 000 jobs) |
| Unemployment Rate | Unemployment decreased by 1,1% (Q3 18,2%) while expanded unemployment increased by 0,3% |
| Employment Absorption ? | Employment absorption decreased by 0,6% (to 49,8%), meaning the working aged are more likely to be unemployed or not economically active in Durban than employed |
| Labour Force ? | Labour force participation rate decreased by 1.6% (60,8%) ? |
Source:
Stats SA, 2018
In this economy, how likely are
working aged people to be employed?
Official Unemployment Rate %
The official unemployment rate is a measure of the percentage of the labour force who are actively looking for employment. Whereas, the expanded unemployment rate includes those who have been discouraged from seeking employment.| Official Unemployment Rate % |
Jul-Sep 2017 Q3 |
Jan-Mar 2018 Q1 |
Apr-Jun 2018 Q2 |
Jul-Sep 2018 Q3 |
Q to Q | Y to Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eThekwini Municipality |
23,3
|
20,3
|
19,3
|
18,2
|
-1,1
|
-5,1
|
| KwaZulu-Natal |
24,6
|
22,3
|
21,8
|
23,0
|
+1,2
|
-1,6
|
| South Africa |
27,7
|
26,7
|
27,2
|
27,5
|
+0,3
|
-0,2
|
| Expanded Unemployment Rate % |
Jul-Sep 2017 Q3 |
Jan-Mar 2018 Q1 |
Apr-Jun 2018 Q2 |
Jul-Sep 2018 Q3 |
Q to Q | Y to Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eThekwini Municipality |
30,5
|
27,4
|
27,2
|
27,5
|
+0,3
|
-3,0
|
| KwaZulu-Natal |
41,0
|
40,6
|
40,9
|
41,2
|
+0,3
|
+0,2
|
| South Africa |
36,8
|
36,7
|
37,2
|
37,3
|
+0,1
|
+0,5
|
Source:
Stats SA, 2018 (For both tables)
Under the expanded definition of unemployment, KwaZulu-Natal has a higher unemployment rate than the national rate. Furthermore, both the provincial and national expanded unemployment rates increased between 2017 q3 and 2018 q3. EThekwini Municipality’s expanded unemployment improved by 3% within the same period.
UIF in Durban and KwaZulu Natal
Unemployment insurance claims in Durban and KZN are strongly correlated as 47% of all claims originate from Durban. Slight reductions are seen in UIF claims between October 2018 and November 2018.
Source:
KZN Department of Labour, 2018
Conclusion
While there has been some improvement in the year-on-year unemployment rate for eThekwini Municipality, unemployment continues to be an area of serious concern for eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal Province and South Africa as a whole. Unemployment Insurance Funds (UIFs) claims are an indication of the level of distress in an economy. Following a sharp decline in UIF claims in December 2017, the number of UIF claims increased at the start of 2018 and oscillated around a similar level throughout 2018. This was the case for both Durban and KwaZulu-Natal Province
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