ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment in South Africa
South Africa: ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment was 892.02 1000 No in 2024. ▬ Flat
ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment in South Africa, 2008–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 No.
Analysis
The most recent figure for ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment in South Africa is 892.02 1000 No, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 72.7% on the previous year and down 68.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment in South Africa peaked at 3,272 1000 No in 2023 and was at its lowest, 892.02 1000 No, in 2024.
That places South Africa 33rd out of 72 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment in South Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2,574 1000 No | — |
| 2009 | 2,523 1000 No | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 2,370 1000 No | -6.1% |
| 2011 | 2,390 1000 No | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 2,511 1000 No | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 2,696 1000 No | +7.4% |
| 2014 | 2,796 1000 No | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 3,271 1000 No | +17.0% |
| 2016 | 3,250 1000 No | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 3,148 1000 No | -3.1% |
| 2018 | 3,180 1000 No | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 3,211 1000 No | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 2,940 1000 No | -8.4% |
| 2021 | 2,921 1000 No | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 3,021 1000 No | +3.4% |
| 2023 | 3,272 1000 No | +8.3% |
| 2024 | 892.02 1000 No | -72.7% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 892.02 1000 No is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 933.89 1000 No, 96% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 892.02 1000 No is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 612.23 1000 No, 1.5× the median. (8 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | -72.7% | 3,272 1000 No | 892.02 1000 No |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,548 1000 No | 2,523 1000 No | 2,574 1000 No | 2 |
| 2010s | 2,882 1000 No | 2,370 1000 No | 3,271 1000 No | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,609 1000 No | 892.02 1000 No | 3,272 1000 No | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More economy & growth data for South Africa
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 0.4836 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 1.4 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps -4.01 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0094 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -61.95 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled -2.16 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual -192.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0051 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -33.37 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 16.18 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment in South Africa?
- Ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment in South Africa was 892.02 1000 No in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3,272 1000 No in 2023.
- What is the lowest ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 892.02 1000 No in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment?
- South Africa ranks 33rd out of 72 countries with data for 2024.
- Is ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 68.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment, employees, rural areas — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Employment indicators domain focuses on indicators related to employment in agrifood systems and rural areas. The update is performed yearly, using data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) database that contains a rich set of indicators from a wide range of topics related to labour statistics. The indicators published in FAOSTAT are derived from the labour force statistics (LFS) and rural and urban labour markets (RURURB) databases of the ILOSTAT database.