Informal Economy Employment Data In South Africa: A Critical Analysis
There has in recent years been a debate in South Africa about the extent of employment and unemployment. Much of this debate is related to the impact of government policy – whether the effects of government policy have resulted in higher levels of employment or not. Three issues relevant to this paper have characterised this debate. First, interest groups have selectively manipulated some of the data to support their own policy objectives. Second, it is apparent that questions may be asked about whether or not the labour market data in South Africa are a reliable estimate of actual developments in employment and unemployment. Third, employment in the informal economy of South Africa is a key aspect of this lack of reliable data. This paper is concerned primarily with addressing the reliability or otherwise of data on informal employment in South Africa.
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