SA Jobless 32.9%; Zim 8%

Why the Discrepancy? This Country Is Counting Different Things

- Ciaran Ryan

Capitec CEO Gerrie Fourie recently claimed South Africa's unemployment is closer to 10% than the official 32.9% if we count the enormous informal sector — which, by some accounts, represents more than 15% of GDP and 2.7 million jobs.

Fourie said the actual unemployment rate may be closer to 10% based on observations of informal economic activity. With 24 million customers, Capitec has a fair grasp of the transactional activity of nearly half the SA population and estimates the informal sector at nearly nine million — far larger than estimates by Statistics SA.

Stats SA hit back at this claim, pointing out that it does in fact measure the informal sector in its various surveys, but added improvements could be made by gathering better data.

It says it is "committed to advancing data integrity and is evaluating additional statistical tools, including a register for informal enterprises".

This is no idle debate. Unemployment figures are highly politicised.

They are a useful battering ram to shame the government — rightly so — and advance various political agendas.

Stats SA says it recognises its unemployment figures are among the most scrutinised in the country, and it welcomes this.

In SA, informal employment, defined by tax registration status and enterprise size, is captured in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) using International Labour Organisation (ILO) methodology.

To qualify as part of the informal sector, employees must be unregistered for income tax and work in establishments with fewer than five individuals.

This encompasses employers, own-account workers, and those providing unpaid assistance in household businesses who do not register for income tax or value-added tax (VAT).

Same methodology, different results?

How we measure unemployment is of vast importance.