EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The official unemployment rate increased by 1 percentage point to 30.1% in the first quarter of 2020 (January to March 2020) compared to the fourth quarter of 2019 (October to December 2020). The total quarterly employment of the first quarter of 2020 indicates that employment decreased by 38 000 to 16.4 million. Employment declined in seven out of the ten (10) industries, with the largest declined recorded in Finance and Other Business Services (-50 000), followed by Community and Social Services (-33 000), Agriculture (-21 000), Transport (-17 000), Manufacturing (-15 000), Construction (-7 000), and Utilities (-4 000). Only Trade, Private Households and Mining registered an increase, with employed figures going up by 71 000, 30 000 and 6 000 in these sectors, respectively.

Within the Agricultural sector, there are employment dynamics across various Provinces. For example, the Northern Cape recorded an increase of 14.5%, followed by the Western Cape at 8.1% and the North West at 6.3%. KwaZulu Natal and Limpopo recorded the largest declines of 17.9% and 9.8%, respectively. In terms of gender, men actively involved in agriculture amounted to 577 000, while women were 287 000. The involvement of women in the sector declined by 15 000 (-4.8%) compared to the previous quarter.