According to the Annual Labour Market Bulletin, South Africa has 20.1 million economically active people but the country’s labour absorption rate has remained stagnant at around 42.8%.
The figure falls well behind the international average of about 60%.
The report highlighted: “South Africa’s economically active population is growing, an indication that more people are coming into the labour force. Unfortunately, the growth in the number of economically active population does not correlate with the growth in the number of jobs created year-on-year.”
The Department of Labour’s Employment Services for South Africa recorded 607 229 new job seekers in the past financial year, of which only 2.5% were placed in positions in the same period.
Gauteng was the province that recorded the highest share of work seekers, with 23%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 18.1%.
The number of economically active people had grown consistently in five provinces – Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West, and the Western Cape – since September 2011, the report said.