Tag: labour force

Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana delivered his Budget Speech 2024 to Parliament and the nation on 21 February 2024. A key announcement was that tax rates will not be increased in 2024/2025, as previously signalled by the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) 2023, to generate the extra R15 billion needed in revenue.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the beating heart of Africa’s economies. According to the World Economic Forum, as engines of growth, SMEs are responsible for around 80% of the continent’s employment, ultimately helping to reduce poverty and income inequality, enabling the establishment of a new middle class and driving demand for new goods and services.

Findings contained in a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicate that Africa’s economies have the potential to become major players in global supply chains.

South Africa’s headline unemployment rate hit a record high of 34.4% in the second quarter of 2021, up from 32.6% in the first three months of the year as businesses shed staff resulting from the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Despite the country moving to level two of the national lockdown, most industries are still reeling from the upset caused by the pandemic and reduced economic activity. This is exacerbated by the loss of quality talent that most companies are facing due to the restructuring they had to undertake to remain afloat during the economic downturn.

The world over companies are facing enormous pressure under the ‘new or never normal’, as the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting, and in some cases, deepening existing workplace inequalities. Gender mainstreaming in the workplace still has a long way to go and the time is now that we give it the attention it deserves – not only through women’s month, but throughout the year.

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on May 14th that South Africa’s unemployment rate increased from 27.1% of the labour force in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 27.6% during the first quarter of 2019.