SALabourMarket - The South African labour market: Selected time-based social and international comparisons

This report analyses labour market patterns and trends based primarily on the results of the October Household Survey (OHS) of 1995 and 1999. Labour statistics are related to education, youth, disability and poverty, and reasons for unemployment are examined. International comparisons are provided.read more »

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Tsolwana

Tsolwana Local Municipality has two main urban centres, Tarkastad and Hofmeyr, and about 11 rural villages scattered within the former Ntabethemba area, including Thornhill, Mitford, Rocklands, Tendergate, etc. �Tsolwana covers an area of approximately 6 000 square km in extent with a density of about six people per square km. The extent of local area of jurisdiction translates to 4,2% of the district as a whole.

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Lukhanji

Lukhanji is a category B municipality situated within the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape. It is made up of a combination of the greater Queenstown and surrounding farms and villages, Ilinge, Hewu/Whittlesea and Ntabethemba. Lukhanji is landlocked by the municipalities of Tsolwana and Inkwanca to the west, Emalahleni and Intsika Yethu to the north, and Amahlathi to the east. Lukhanji occupies a strategic geographic position within the Chris Hani District Municipality and covers approximately 4�231 km�.

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Engcobo

Engcobo Local Municipality is located in the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape, the second largest province in terms of land coverage on the south-eastern seaboard of South Africa. Engcobo consists of 20 wards, extends over 2�258,78km� with a population of 155�513, and constitutes 19,6% of the total population of the district, as per the Census 2011 information.

The majority of the population is female (56%). �There are about 66 people per square kilometre. �The population is predominantly black African, followed by an insignificant number of Asians/Indians, coloureds and whites.

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Maluti a Phofung

Maluti-A-Phofung local municipality is situated in the Free State. Maluti-A-Phofung is a local municipality and was established on 5 December 2001, and comprises of four former TLC local authorities, which are Qwaqwa Rural, Phuthaditjhaba, Harrismith and Kestell. The municipality is comprised of 35 wards and covers approximately 4�421 km2 in extent. Phuthaditjhaba is the urban centre of Qwaqwa and serves as the administrative head office of Maluti-A-Phofung municipality. Surrounding Phuthaditjhaba are the rural villages of Qwaqwa, established on tribal land administered by the Department of Land Affairs. Harrismith is a service center for the surrounding rural areas and a trading belt serving the national road, N3, which links the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Harrismith is surrounded by Tshiame located 12 km to the west and Intabazwe, which is located 1,5 km to the north. The town is an economic hub for people living in Tshiame, Intabazwe and Qwaqwa. Kestell is a service center for the surrounding agricultural oriented rural area, with Tlholong as the township. Kestell is situated along the N5 road that links Harrismith with Bethlehem. The rural areas of Maluti-A-Phofung comprise commercial farms and major nature conservation centres such as Qwaqwa National Park, Platberg, Sterkfontein Dam and the Maluti Mountain Range. The area is not only a tourist attraction destination, but also makes a big contribution in generating gross agricultural income for the whole of the province and is also highly regarded for its beef production.read more »

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Mpofana

The Mpofana Municipality is strategically located along the national N3 highway and is approximately 70 km from Pietermaritzburg. The Mooi River sits at the heart of the Midlands Meander with interesting attractions such as the Linen Loft and Sharrow Weaving. Stretches of the river offer boating facilities whilst the upper reaches are a fly fisherman's paradise. Further upstream, the Mooi River Falls are a marvellous site to watch when the river is flooded. The predominant occupation in the area is agriculture, with a wide range of agricultural products being produced. Dairy and stock farming are, however, the main farming activities (uMgungundlovu District Municipality IDP 2012/13).read more »

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Work & Labour Force

There are different forms of work, these include work as employment (work to generate income), unpaid work which includes volunteer work and domestic work for own final household consumption. Statistics South Africa measures all forms of work including work which should be abolished like child labour.

Work as employment is measured from two sources, establishment surveys and household based surveys. The Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) is establishment based while The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) is a household based survey. The two sources differ in coverage, scope, unit of measurement and method of collection. Because of these differences, the two sources yield different figures. However, the two sources should be regarded as complementary rather than competitive.

Each source has advantages and limitations in terms of statistics yielded. The QES covers non-agricultural formal sector employment while the QLFS covers total employment in all industries and sectors. The QLFS can also provide information on demographic characteristics of the labour force (employment and unemployment) which the QES cannot provide.

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Unemployment

Employment is a key economic indicator and it is sensitive to the business cycle. For example employment peaked in 2008 to approximately 13,8 million when the economy was better. However, during the recession of 2009 and 2010 approximately 806 000 persons lost their jobs. After these two successive years of decline, employment grew by 204 000 and 258 000 persons in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Community & social services industry contributed the most to the growth in employment observed in the past two years. This was followed by Finance and other business services.read more »

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