According to the latest QLFS publication from StatsSA, the official unemployment rate increased from 27,7% to 28,4% between 2021Q4 and 2022Q1 in Durban. The participation rate increased by 11% in 2022Q1 when compared to same quarter last year. The number of discouraged persons decreased by -19% (40 000), indicating that more people were actively searching for work during this period. The number of employed persons also increased by 2% meaning 26 000 more people were employed in 2022Q1, just before April 2022 the floods.
However, while the job market had begun to recover to pre-Covid19 levels in Q1, the April 2022 flooding resulted in economic disruptions and reversed some of these gains. The City’s Economic Development Unit conducted an Economic Activity and Outlook Information Survey in April following the flood. The survey was conducted on businesses based in Durban to establish the impact of damages sustained. According to survey results, almost 7,900 jobs are estimated to have been lost due to the flooding and the majority of these jobs lost are in the low skilled/ semi-skilled category. The flooding has therefore increased the vulnerability of the City’s labour market.
Therefore, while StatsSA’s Labour Force Survey indicates an increase in labour at the opening of the year, a decline in the job market is expected in the City’s Q22022 figures, to be released in August.
