Age, employment and labour force participation outcomes in COVID-era South Africa

Type Journal Article - Development Southern Africa
Title Age, employment and labour force participation outcomes in COVID-era South Africa
Author(s)
Volume 0
Issue 0
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2022
Page numbers 1-25
URL https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2022.2051439
Abstract
In this paper we use data from waves 1–5 of NIDS-CRAM to investigate labour market outcomes in 2020/1 for four age groups: youth (aged 18–24), prime-age adults (aged 25–39), middle-age adults (aged 40–54) and older adults (aged 55–64). We contrast outcomes just before and just after the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown (February and April 2020) with outcomes one year later (March 2021), and study transitions between the periods. We find that although the NIDS-CRAM employment-to-population ratio was near identical in February 2020 and March 2021 (56.4\% versus 56.6\%), there had been extensive churning between the two periods. By March 2021, 23\% of the February 2020 employed had lost work and 30\% of the non-employed had found work. Amidst these changes, youth experienced the largest employment-to-population ratio increase, while older adults suffered the largest decrease in employment and a decline in participation rates (changes not statistically significant).

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