Page 9 - SDG Report

Number of unemployed people, official definition
City of Tshwane Nelson Mandela Bay City of Johannesburg Ekurhuleni eThekwini City of Cape Town
0 100 000
200 000 2019
300 000 2020
400 000
500 000
600 000
700 000
800 000
Almost half of all unemployed people have not finished secondary schooling, while almost 9 out of 10 unemployed people have no tertiary education. Over 17% of the respondent households to the StatsSA Community Survey 2016, reported no income, and 35% of the households have no income or an income less than R38 200. Considering the high levels of unemployment the city would need to investigate options that would support the growth of SMMEs, encourage business development that is labour intensive and effectively support and manage informal trading.
The country’s GDP contracted by 16.4% during quarter 2 and it was estimated by Durban EDGE (Economic Development Unit) that the City’s GDP contracted by 25.6% during this quarter. Locally the drop in GDP was also attributed to a significant loss of foreign direct investment of R7 billion in the manufacturing sector and an estimated loss of sales in finance, insurance, and services (R10.77 bn), trade and accommodation (R4.52 bn) and transport, storage, and communications (R4.37 bn). It was also estimated that 1 100 companies were closed with a total job loss of 20 000 during the height of the lockdown from a manufacturing survey undertaken by the Economic Development Unit’s Policy, Strategy, Information and Research (PSIR) depart- ment. The findings of a repeat survey suggested that about 6 000 businesses, primarily small businesses, were at risk of closing.
GDP growth was recorded as R 280.4 billion in 2020, dropping by 7.5% from the previous year and is forecasted to grow to R292.8 billion in 2021 (growth of 4.4%). The local economy was dominated by tertiary industries that included finance (22%), manufacturing (18%), trade (16%), transport (13%) and construction (4%). The city posted a contracted GDP of R280,4 billion in 2020, while the country was at R2,93 trillion - decreasing by 7.5% and 6.9% respectively over the previous year. The informal and SMME sectors were the most impacted with jobs and revenue losses during the peak period of the lockdown. The trend to work from home may continue at a reduced level as more service companies allow their staff to work from home. This will reduce the demand for fuel and have an impact on the public transport sector, while office properties will face rising vacancies.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS GOOD PRACTICE 7