Rapid Country Assessment South Africa: The Impacts from a COVID-19 Shock to South Africa's Economy and Labour Market

This research paper by the International Labour Organization (ILO) provides a rapid assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on South Africa's economy and labour market, emphasizing the disproportionate effect on disadvantaged groups and the need for a sequenced policy response based on the ILO's four-pillar framework.

• South Africa is identified as the most severely affected African nation regarding the pandemic, ranking 5th globally in COVID-19 cases despite implementing some of the most stringent lockdown measures.
• The pandemic hit South Africa during a period of existing economic slowdown and rising unemployment, resulting in a decline in formal employment and turnover losses for 90% of South African businesses.
• The crisis has disproportionately impacted groups that were already disadvantaged prior to the pandemic, exacerbating existing labour market vulnerabilities and inequalities.

APA

Strauss, I., Isaacs, G., Rosenberg, J., & Passoni, P. (2020). Rapid Country Assessment South Africa: The Impacts from a COVID-19 Shock to South Africa's Economy and Labour Market. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/resource/research-report/rapid-country-assessment-south-africa-the-impacts-from-a-covid-19-shock-to-south-africas-economy-and-labour-market/

Chicago

Strauss, Ilan, Gilad Isaacs, Josh Rosenberg, and Patieene Passoni. Rapid Country Assessment South Africa: The Impacts from a COVID-19 Shock to South Africa's Economy and Labour Market. Institute for Economic Justice, 2020. https://iej.org.za/resource/research-report/rapid-country-assessment-south-africa-the-impacts-from-a-covid-19-shock-to-south-africas-economy-and-labour-market/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Strauss |first1=Ilan |last2=Isaacs |first2=Gilad |last3=Rosenberg |first3=Josh |last4=Passoni |first4=Patieene |title=Rapid Country Assessment South Africa: The Impacts from a COVID-19 Shock to South Africa's Economy and Labour Market |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=28 August 2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/resource/research-report/rapid-country-assessment-south-africa-the-impacts-from-a-covid-19-shock-to-south-africas-economy-and-labour-market/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{strauss2020rapid, author = {Strauss, Ilan and Isaacs, Gilad and Rosenberg, Josh and Passoni, Patieene}, title = {{Rapid Country Assessment South Africa: The Impacts from a COVID-19 Shock to South Africa's Economy and Labour Market}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/resource/research-report/rapid-country-assessment-south-africa-the-impacts-from-a-covid-19-shock-to-south-africas-economy-and-labour-market/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }