Economists Mike Schüssler and Phumlani Majozi write that nearly 1.4 million formal and informal jobs in the SA economy are at risk, with the current Covid-19 lockdown alert Level 3 restrictions having a direct impact across at least seven sectors.
The total number of people employed across these sectors, namely travel, tourism, entertainment, leisure, manufacturing, agriculture and services not classified elsewhere, equates to one in 12 jobs being directly at risk of destruction. If immediate family and dependants who rely on a breadwinner’s wages are included, the Level 3 restrictions could impact millions more. Since many also help dependants outside the immediate family, the overall number of people impacted could be as much as 10% of the SA population. The authors note that some provinces have even higher numbers at risk, namely one in six jobs in the Western Cape and one in five in the Northern Cape. The risk for the Eastern Cape is that only one in four adults will have a job if the jobs at risk are destroyed. Overall, SA unemployment could rise from 43.1% to 51.6% within a year, driven by the potential Level 3 job losses and increasing numbers of job seekers. In addition to such unacceptable job losses, the Level 3 restrictions are said to be having detrimental repercussions as well or the turnover of industry, while their impact on the fiscus is certainly well over R10 billion per month. The authors say government has a moral duty to not cause business failure, and to avoid mass hunger. They say it must immediately reopen the economy and allow businesses to take the necessary hygienic precautions without undue interference.
- Read the full original of the abovementioned analysis by Mike Schüssler and Phumlani Majozi at Moneyweb <https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/economy/level-3-restrictions-will-cost-one-in-12-south-africans-their-jobs/>
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