ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment in South Africa
South Africa: ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment was 194.95 1000 No in 2024. ▼ Falling
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 194.95 1000 No, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.
That represents a change of down 72.1% on the previous year and down 69.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment in South Africa peaked at 713.6 1000 No in 2017 and was at its lowest, 194.95 1000 No, in 2024.
That places South Africa 44th out of 72 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment by status of employment in South Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 711.29 1000 No | — |
| 2009 | 654.39 1000 No | -8.0% |
| 2010 | 663.36 1000 No | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 611.75 1000 No | -7.8% |
| 2012 | 634.01 1000 No | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 652.42 1000 No | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 637.59 1000 No | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 648.21 1000 No | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 699.4 1000 No | +7.9% |
| 2017 | 713.6 1000 No | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 700.54 1000 No | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 710.64 1000 No | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 708.4 1000 No | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 614.81 1000 No | -13.2% |
| 2022 | 613.43 1000 No | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 697.64 1000 No | +13.7% |
| 2024 | 194.95 1000 No | -72.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 194.95 1000 No is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 395.66 1000 No, 49% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 194.95 1000 No is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1,967 1000 No, 10% of 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 | -72.1% | 697.64 1000 No | 194.95 1000 No |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 682.84 1000 No | 654.39 1000 No | 711.29 1000 No | 2 |
| 2010s | 667.15 1000 No | 611.75 1000 No | 713.6 1000 No | 10 |
| 2020s | 565.85 1000 No | 194.95 1000 No | 708.4 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 194.95 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 713.6 1000 No in 2017.
- What is the lowest ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 194.95 1000 No in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for ilostat - labour force survey — employment by status of employment?
- South Africa ranks 44th 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 69.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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, self-employed, rural areas — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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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.