UNEMPLOYMENT AND PRECARITY DURING COVID-19

This 2020 fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on unemployment and labor precarity in South Africa. It analyzes the situation through the lens of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), specifically the rights to work and just conditions of employment, highlighting how the pandemic exacerbated existing systemic inequalities and the inadequacy of government relief measures.

• South Africa experienced a severe unemployment crisis during the second quarter of 2020, with an official expanded unemployment rate (EUR) of 42.3%. This crisis showed significant demographic disparities: the EUR for women was 45.7% compared to 38.9% for men, and 46.3% for black/Africans compared to 14.3% for whites.
• The COVID-19 pandemic led to massive job losses in South Africa between February and April 2020, with the NIDS-CRAM survey estimating 3 million jobs lost and StatsSA reporting 2.2 million jobs shed in Q2 2020. These losses were heavily gendered, with women losing two-thirds of the jobs.
• Labor precarity is high due to limited social security coverage; only 61.4% of employed persons in South Africa are covered by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). Domestic workers are especially vulnerable, as approximately one third are not registered with the UIF.
• The informal economy suffered significant declines during the lockdown. Typical earnings for women in informal self-employment decreased by nearly 70% between February and April 2020, and the decline in hours worked was 49% for women compared to 25% for men.
• Workplace health and safety compliance was poor during the pandemic. In May 2020, the Department of Labour found that 60% of inspected businesses were non-compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, with compliance dropping to 50% for government departments and SOEs.
• The government's COVID-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) is criticized for being insufficient and exclusive. It only applies to those in formal employment, covers only 38% to 60% of a worker's salary (capped at R6,730), and faced delays due to capacity constraints and employer non-compliance.
• The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recommended that South Africa introduce a legislative framework to regulate the informal economy, extend social security to informal workers, close the gender pay gap, and increase funding for qualified labour inspectors.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2020). UNEMPLOYMENT AND PRECARITY DURING COVID-19. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Work-and-COVID19-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. UNEMPLOYMENT AND PRECARITY DURING COVID-19. 2020. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Work-and-COVID19-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=UNEMPLOYMENT AND PRECARITY DURING COVID-19 |date=2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Work-and-COVID19-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2020unemployment, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{UNEMPLOYMENT AND PRECARITY DURING COVID-19}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Work-and-COVID19-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }