The Post-Apartheid Labour Market 1995-2004

• Household attachment of the unemployed • Characteristics that increase or decrease the likelihood of unemployment Exploring the Concept of “jobless growth” in South Africa It is frequently put forward that South Africa experienced “jobless growth” in the fi rst decade of post-apartheid, and the starting point of this survey is to question this statement. [...] Characterising the Labour Force The ideal place to begin formulating an understanding of the post-apartheid labour market is by developing an overview of the characteristics of the labour force and of the broad shifts that have occurred between 1995 and 2005, as presented in Table 1. [...] • The greater the number of young children in a household, the lower the probability that an individual will be part of the labour force. [...] • The greater the number of pensionable individuals, the lower the participation rates of working age adults in the household. [...] • The government is therefore faced with the dual problem of creating jobs for the current unemployed members of the labour force, and of ensuring that employment growth keeps pace with the number of individuals entering the labour force.