South Africa’s real unemployment rate – 38.5%

Malan highlighted the following as proof that the 29% figure is not an accurate reflection of the situation in South Africa:

“South Africa has an exceptionally large gap between the narrow definition of the unemployment rate (29,0%) and the expanded definition (38.5%).”

“We have a particularly low labour absorption rate (42.4%).”

“A 2013 study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal indicates that so-called discouraged jobseekers, who are not counted as unemployed in the official rate, are in no way less likely to be employed than so-called active jobseekers.”