Around 700 000 unemployed people seek jobs in Limpopo
The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2022 shows a dire need for work with 49.9% of the province's population jobless.
POLOKWANE – According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2022, Limpopo has the third highest expanded unemployment rate (49.9%) after the provinces of the Eastern Cape (53%) and the Northern Cape (50.3%) and it is a matter of concern that the province now has about 700 000 people who are desperate for a job and 511 000 who has given up hope of ever finding the means to earn a living.
The expanded unemployment rate reflects on the job seekers who have given up to find any new jobs in a scenario where it is difficult to get employment. Narrow unemployment refers to the people who are unemployed but are seeking jobs and trying to get some work.
The report also reflects that the country’s unemployment rate was at 32.7%, a decrease of 0.2%, but locally, adverse labour market conditions, including frequent labour strikes, high wage demands, high inputs costs and power shortages continue to discourage private sector investment, constraining job creation.
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It is surprising that South Africa’s unemployment rate trended downwards in the third quarter of 2022 despite the inflated cost of living, rising interest rates and fuel prices and worsening load shedding.
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This marks the lowest unemployment rate in six quarters, as the number of unemployed persons declined by 269 000 to 7.725 million, while employment rose by 204 000 to 15.765 million.
In the recent State of the Province Address, Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha said that it is worth noting that the official unemployment rate (narrow) has decreased in six provinces.
“We are pleased to report that the largest decrease was recorded in Limpopo at 5.3%, that is from 36.3%, down to 31%. A worrying trend, however, is that young people aged 15 to 24 and 25 to 34 recorded the highest unemployment rates nationally. In that quarter, there were 10.2 million young people aged 15 to 24 years across the country, of whom 34.5% were not in employment, education or training,” the premier said and added that is important to note that to be considered unemployed a person must be an active member of the labour force and in search of remunerative work.
On the economic front, the premier claimed Limpopo had recorded a steady recovery in confronting the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality and referred to projects that included over 6 000 job opportunities in the Industrial Parks Revitalisation Programme in all the five districts of the province.
“The new 488-bed academic hospital will be a massive change in the health landscape in our province and it is expected that the project will generate 1.220 part-time jobs during the construction phase and create 2.461 full-time equivalent jobs in Polokwane once the hospital is fully operational.,” Mathabatha said and confirmed that construction will commence soon.
According to the Premier, the Sefateng Chrome Mine will revolutionise chrome mining with its unique underground shaft. “They have invested a substantial sum of 1bn to make this project a reality and this investment has created 350 jobs during the construction phase and will provide a long-term source of employment for 600 individuals once production begins,” Mathabatha reported.
Another creator of job opportunities will be the Nkuna City Investment that will create a vibrant, dynamic community that seamlessly integrates business, retail, commercial, industrial, hospitality, institutional and residential land use. In just the first two phases of the project, it has created over 2 000 temporary jobs and 550 permanent jobs, with an estimated worth of R370m.
President of the Polokwane Chamber of Business, Percy Mongalo welcomed the decline in the rate of unemployment.
“We are still concerned by the low absorption of the youth in the formal employment. Since the rampage of business by Covid-19 and the continued loadshedding that is continuing unabated, businesses are declining in production and productivity. Unless mitigated upon through flexible labour policies and government support the current situation will lead to the loss of the current gains. Loadshedding has made it difficult to run business as those trying alternative means of generators are hit hard by the ever-rising cost of fuel,” Mongalo reckoned.
