TEN MEASURES TO PROTECT THE ECONOMY FROM THE FOURTH WAVE

The policy brief highlights a severe economic downturn in South Africa during the third quarter of 2021, characterized by a 1.5% GDP contraction and record-high unemployment. It identifies specific vulnerabilities among youth, Black African women, and informal workers, while noting significant job losses in retail, hospitality, and community services. To mitigate these effects and prevent social instability, the author recommends a suite of interventions including wage support, expanded social grants, sector-specific loans for tourism, and increased funding for industrial policy.

• South Africa's economy contracted by 1.5% in Q3 2021 and is 3.1% smaller than pre-pandemic levels. Unemployment reached 34.9% by the narrow definition and 46.6% by the expanded definition, with 2.1 million fewer people employed compared to Q1 2020.
• Economic vulnerability is most acute among youth (66.5% unemployment for ages 15-24), Black African women (51.1% unemployment), and informal workers who lack social security and unionisation.
• The wholesale and retail trade and hospitality sector suffered the most significant job losses, exceeding 300,000 positions, alongside a 5.5% drop in economic activity due to third-wave restrictions and July social unrest.
• Other sectors showed concerning trends: community and social services lost 210,000 jobs; manufacturing contracted by 4.2% with over 13,000 jobs lost; and mining employment fell by over 50,000 workers despite a minerals boom.
• The cost of living has risen sharply, with food prices increasing by 10% between September 2020 and August 2021, raising the cost of a household food basket from R3 856 to R4 241.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (n.d.). TEN MEASURES TO PROTECT THE ECONOMY FROM THE FOURTH WAVE. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IEJ-COVID-19-policy-brief-series-5.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. TEN MEASURES TO PROTECT THE ECONOMY FROM THE FOURTH WAVE. n.d. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IEJ-COVID-19-policy-brief-series-5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=TEN MEASURES TO PROTECT THE ECONOMY FROM THE FOURTH WAVE |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IEJ-COVID-19-policy-brief-series-5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjusticendten, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{TEN MEASURES TO PROTECT THE ECONOMY FROM THE FOURTH WAVE}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IEJ-COVID-19-policy-brief-series-5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }