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

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 th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development southern Africa (Sandton, South Africa) South Africa), 2022-09, Vol.39 (5), p.664-688
Main Authors: Espi-Sanchis, Gabriel, Leibbrandt, Murray, Ranchhod, Vimal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
churning
coronavirus
COVID-19
dynamics
Employment
Labor force participation
Labor market
Older people
Pandemics
Work
Youth employment
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Summary: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).
ISSN:0376-835X
1470-3637
DOI:10.1080/0376835X.2022.2051439