IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

Statistical agencies across the world periodically revise published statistical series when new information becomes available. So too does Stats SA. In the past, labour market information has been revised following the release of the results of Census 1996, Census 2001 and the large-scale Community Survey of 2007. Similarly, the current revision has been undertaken to reflect the new population benchmarks derived from the latest population census that was conducted in 2011. Demographic patterns and trends relating to fertility, mortality and migration obtained from the census are the main drivers of the historical revisions. For example, Census 2011 results confirmed that Gauteng had overtaken KwaZulu-Natal as the province with the largest population and this is one of the reasons for the revision of the labour market series.

Based on the current revisions, the trends in all the labour market indicators are similar to those previously published. The revised estimates of the working age population; employment; and unemployment are higher than previously published but this has had little impact on key labour market rates such as the unemployment rate, the labour absorption rate and the labour force participation rate.