Tag: job loss

Parliament has been warned of the risk of billions of Rands of capital investment leaving the country unless local investment incentives like those under Section 12J of the Income Tax Act are permitted to continue. Our presentation was made during the Select Committee of Finance’s public hearings on the TLAB, TALAB and Rates Bills.

A recent World Economic Forum report has highlighted evolving trends in the workforce, globally and in South Africa, as the local labour market faces the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on 12 November 2020 that employment in South Africa increased by 543,000 in the third quarter of the year – recovering some of the 2.2 million jobs lost during the lockdown-hit second quarter.

Any society that restricts the economic participation of half of its members is doomed to failure, and women make up roughly half of the population in any society. Regression studies reveal that equality before the law is second only to inflation in terms of its contribution to GDP per capita growth.

The captain of Ship SA, President Cyril Ramaphosa, can surely see the iceberg that we are heading for and one can almost hear the call go out for us to 'brace for impact'. The iceberg is an economy that is in crisis – an unemployment rate of 42% (using the expanded definition), GDP growth projections down by 7.8%, tax revenue projections at R304 billion less than originally budgeted for, a budget deficit of R709 billion for 2020/21, a current debt to GPD level of 81.8% and debt service costs (interest) currently amounting to 21c in every tax Rand collected.

It’s common cause that too many South Africans struggle with debt. National Credit Regulator data shows that 40% of the 25 million active credit users are behind on their payments. That proportion has probably become worse since April 2020 because the data was released before the COVID-19 crisis.

At various stages during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, various studies were released on the negative impact that COVID-19 will have on the construction sector. Some studies predicted that the sector could experience a total of 140,000 job losses.

The immense socio-economic impact under one of the world’s most extreme lockdown’s during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in South Africans uniting for their voices to be heard under a grassroots movement called Move One Million.

Following the endless stream of COVID-19 headlines, extended lockdowns and associated economic hardships, we are all suffering from Armageddon fatigue. It is easy to become pessimistic in the face of the very real challenges we are grappling with.

The COVID-19 crisis is having a profound impact on South Africa’s economy with the GDP forecast to contract by as much as 7.1% in 2020, to an all-time low of roughly -8.5%. A wide range of industries came to an abrupt halt during the national lockdown, with businesses across the board struggling to stay afloat – mass job cuts, and for many others, pay cuts, loom.