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Mail & Guardian

Informal Sector

latest news & developments
Grant: With youth unemployment so high, the informal and gig economy is realistically the primary absorber of young workers for the foreseeable future. Photo: Sassa
SOUTH AFRICA

Grants, hustles and debt – the patchwork economy keeping millions afloat

South Africa's economy has seen little growth in over a decade, with official unemployment at 33% and a real figure closer to 43%. Discover how citizens, particularly the youth,…

  • Helen Grange
7 min read
Trading informally is not a choice but a necessity in a country where the unemployment rate is at an alarming level. (Photo by: Roger de la Harpe/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
INFORMAL SECTOR

Reform property laws and bureaucratic system so that South Africa’s informal sector can thrive

Trading informally is not a choice but a necessity in a country where the unemployment rate is at an alarming level

  • Lindani Zungu
4 min read
Poor people in urban areas rely heavily on informal markets for their food supply, because they are often more accessible, cheaper and sell produce in smaller quantities than supermarkets. (Photo by Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
AGRI FOOD BUSINESS

Food Security

With over 65% of South Africa’s population now living in cities, this shift has altered the landscape and dynamics of food security

  • Earl Joseph
16 min read
Alexandria Procter, Managing Director, Digs Connect and Board Member of the National Youth Development. Agency
INFORMAL SECTOR

Harnessing the power of South Africa’s informal startup sector: A catalyst for inclusive growth

Instead of criminalising informal activity, local governments should support it

  • Alexandria Procter & Waseem Carrim
5 min read
Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
CENTRE FOR RESEARCHING EDUCATION AND LABOUR

Nxesi: The changing definition of work demands a review of labour protection

The labour minister noted many informal workers had been excluded from the country’s Covid-19 relief scheme

  • Sarah Smit
4 min read
In the second quarter of 2025, unemployment edged up to 33.2% in the second quarter of 2025 from 32.9% in the previous quarter, while of the 10.1 million people aged 15 to 24, 35.2% were not in employment
BRAZIL

Why is turning the tide on SA unemployment so tough?

South Africa’s jobless rate is one of the highest in the world — and bringing it down significantly could take years

  • Sarah Smit
6 min read
The unemployment rate reached 32.6%, the highest since the survey was launched in 2008, in the first three months of 2021
DISCOURAGED WORK SEEKERS

South Africa hits new unemployment record

The unemployment rate reached 32.6%, the highest since the survey was launched in 2008, in the first three months of 2021

  • Sarah Smit
2 min read
The pandemic is providing mobile phone network operators with a unique chance to partner with fintech firms and banks to deliver clever e-commerce solutions to the informal sector in Africa
COVID 19

E-payments for the unbanked are booming

The pandemic is providing mobile phone network operators with a unique chance to partner with fintech firms and banks to deliver clever e-commerce solutions to the informal…

  • Osahon Akpata
6 min read
Although two thirds of job losses were experienced by women, two thirds of the recipients of the R350 Covid-19 grant were men (John McCan/M&G)
COVID 19

The pandemic’s effect is gendered

Although two thirds of job losses were experienced by women, two thirds of the recipients of the R350 Covid-19 grant were men

  • Nonsikelelo Ncube
4 min read
No evidence of ‘fake food’
BRETT HAMILTON

Covid-19 stimulus plan won’t protect informal economy

The sector is incredibly vulnerable but has largely been overlooked in government’s neal attempts to deal with our current crisis

  • Linda Christensen
9 min read
According to Statistics South Africa’s most recent quarterly labour force survey, there were almost three million workers in the informal sector at the end of 2019. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
CCMA

Covid-19: ‘Unemployment benefits will not be extended to the informal sector’

Almost three million workers are not covered by measures implemented by the department of employment and labour to lessen the economic effects of the coronavirus

  • Sarah Smit
3 min read
Increased accessibility to housing subsidies, acceptance of alternative building materials and the opportunity to create jobs makes a strong case for sustained economic and social development.
INFORMAL SECTOR

The informal economy is necessary to deal with the unemployment crisis

It is more connected to the broader economy than we realise and should be supported

  • Eddie Rakabe
4 min read