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Labour Market Dynamics in South Africa at the Onset of the COVID‐19 Pandemic

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  • Vimal Ranchhod
  • Reza Che Daniels

Abstract

This paper conducts an analysis of labour market dynamics in South Africa during the initial period of lockdown, from the end of March to the end of April 2020, using the first wave of the NIDS‐CRAM (2020) survey. Within our sample of over 6,000 adults aged 18 to 59, we found that there was a very large decrease in employment. The fraction of the sample that was conventionally classified as employed decreased from 57% in February to 48% in April. If we further exclude temporarily absent workers, which we term “furloughed” employees, this fraction decreases further to 38%. Thus, about one out of every three employed people in our sample either lost their job or did not work and received no wages during April. This has extremely large implications for poverty and welfare. We further analyse the labour market by comparing across demographic groups as defined by race, by gender, by age groups, by geographic areas and by education levels. The over‐arching finding from this analysis is that the job losses were not uniformly distributed amongst the different groups. In particular, groups who have always been more vulnerable – such as women, African/Blacks, youth and less educated groups – have been disproportionately negatively affected.

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  • Vimal Ranchhod & Reza Che Daniels, 2021. "Labour Market Dynamics in South Africa at the Onset of the COVID‐19 Pandemic," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 89(1), pages 44-62, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:sajeco:v:89:y:2021:i:1:p:44-62
    DOI: 10.1111/saje.12283
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Muna Shifa & David Gordon & Murray Leibbrandt & Mary Zhang, 2022. "Socioeconomic-Related Inequalities in COVID-19 Vulnerability in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-20, August.
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    5. Muftah Faraj & Murad Bein, 2022. "Sustainability of Local Labour Market in South Africa: The Implications of Imports Competition from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, June.
    6. Lumengo Bonga-Bonga & Thabiso Molemohi & Frederich Kirsten, 2023. "The Role of Personal Characteristics in Shaping Gender-Biased Job Losses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Margaret Chitiga & Martin Henseler & Ramos Emmanuel Mabugu & Hélène Maisonnave, 2022. "How COVID-19 Pandemic Worsens the Economic Situation of Women in South Africa," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1627-1644, June.
    8. Timothy Köhler & Robert Hill & Haroon Bhorat, 2022. "The effect of wage subsidies on job retention: Evidence from South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-114, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Qi Zhang & Xinxin Zhang & Qi Cui & Weining Cao & Ling He & Yexin Zhou & Xiaofan Li & Yunpeng Fan, 2022. "The Unequal Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Labour Market and Income Inequality in China: A Multisectoral CGE Model Analysis Coupled with a Micro-Simulation Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-21, January.
    10. SHEUNESU ZHOU & Ayansola Ayandibu & Tendai Chimucheka & Mandla Masuku, 2022. "Evaluating the impact of government social protection on households? welfare during the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa," Proceedings of Economics and Finance Conferences 13015534, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
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