The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has said the latest Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey figures for the fourth quarter of 2024 - is a confirmation that the crisis of joblessness remains a structural disaster under the "incompetent" leadership of the DA-ANC coalition.
The party said in a statement that the reported decrease of 0.2 percentage points in the unemployment rate, bringing it to 31.9%, is a meaningless and “hollow” statistic when viewed against the backdrop of South Africa’s dire economic conditions and persistent inequality.
“While the economy reportedly added 132,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2024, this marginal increase does nothing to address the deep levels of poverty and deprivation, particularly among black Africans, who continue to bear the brunt of economic exclusion.
“The fact that black African unemployment remains at a staggering 35.8%, with black African women facing an even worse unemployment rate of 38%, is further proof that the ANC government has failed to build an economy that serves the majority of the people.
“Moreover, the so-called improvement in employment is deceptive. Firstly, the rise in employment in the December period is a seasonal one as there is an increase in demand for casual workers during that period. However, these are not sustainable jobs, and we cannot celebrate them as the likelihood is high that most of those who were employed casually in December have already rejoined the unemployed. Secondly, the number of discouraged job seekers has risen by 111,000 to 3.5 million, meaning more people have simply given up looking for work.”
The party argued that the expanded unemployment rate remains alarmingly high at 41.9%, proving that joblessness is still one of the most severe social ills confronting South Africa.
It said in provinces such as North West, Eastern Cape, and Mpumalanga, the expanded unemployment rates have skyrocketed above 47%, showing that economic opportunities remain concentrated in select regions while vast parts of the country are left to rot in poverty.
The EFF blamed the ANC, arguing that the party failed to industrialise the economy, resulting in crucial sectors such as agriculture, mining, construction, and trade suffering job losses.
“The growth in finance and manufacturing is far from sufficient to offset these losses, and the continued decline in industries that should be the backbone of our economy only deepens the crisis.
“Young people remain the biggest casualties of this unemployment catastrophe, with 39.4% of those aged 25-34 jobless. The DA-ANC government has completely abandoned the youth, offering them no access to quality jobs, education, or skills development programs that would enable them to participate in the economy meaningfully.
“In fact, what we have is a private sector-driven economy, championed by the DA and ANC, which continues to entrench racialised poverty, where black people — especially black women — are systematically excluded from opportunities while white South Africans enjoy an unemployment rate as low as 6.7%,” read the statement.
The EFF said it rejects the illusion of progress being sold by the current government and called for urgent measures to transform the economy.
According to the QLFS results released recently, this reflects a positive shift as the number of employed persons increased by 294,000, reaching a total of 16.9 million.
The rise is coupled with a notable reduction in unemployment, with 373,000 fewer individuals classified as unemployed, bringing the total to 8.0 million.
Despite an overall decrease of 79,000 in the labour force, it is reported that the landscape remains challenging, especially for specific demographics.
Notably, the data shows a rise in discouraged job seekers, a concerning statistic that increased by 160,000 (5.0%) during the same period.
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