Dr Leila Fourie, chief executive of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), has renewed a controversial claim that unemployment figures fail to account for the informal economy, a stance that echoes comments made earlier in June by Capitec Bank CEO Gerrie Fourie.

In an interview on Power FM with Dr Mbuyiselo Ndlozi on Tuesday, Fourie argued that current unemployment statistics do not capture the informal sector, which generates substantial earnings that do not flow into GDP growth, tax receipts, or unemployment tallies.

“Unemployment is a challenge in this country. Of course, the unemployment rate doesn’t count in the informal sector, and a lot of earnings are generated, which do not contribute to our GDP growth either,” she said.

“Of course, there are various views on how big that sector is,” Fourie said, adding that the informal economy remains largely outside formal measurement frameworks.

Fourie described the JSE as a “critical capital formation environment,” and argued that many high-net-worth individuals have moved money out of the market over the past two decades, with risk appetite shifting away from local equities. 

She contended that this dynamic limits South Africa’s young tech and renewable-energy entrepreneurs’ access to capital.

“The JSE is collaborating with government development agencies for funding and equity, as well as alternative funders, and then we do funding readiness training and support,” she said, noting that the exchange houses more than R15 billion in capital and has seen numerous companies seeking funding. 

“We host funding readiness roadshows. We’ve done a number in the Western Cape and a couple of other provinces and have been expanding recently. We were in Soweto and had various workshops even in areas like Saldanha,” Fourie added.

Fourie’s remarks mirror Capitec’s Gerrie Fourie, who has questioned the credibility of the official unemployment rate of 32.9%, suggesting that a fuller reading that includes informal activity could place unemployment closer to 10%. Stats SA has resisted this framing.

Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke, at the time, defended the integrity of Statistics South Africa’s data, noting that the Labour Force Survey already includes informal workers. He dismissed Fourie’s assertions as misleading and unfounded.

“I released the quarterly Labour Force Survey. We have reported on the informal sector, and I said the number of people in the informal sector is 3.3 million, and they account for about 19.9% of all people employed in SA,” Maluleke stated. 

He also warned that Fourie’s suggestion of a 10% unemployment rate would imply that only about 2.5 million South Africans are unemployed out of a labor force of 25 million. 

“Data from SARS or other credible sources do not support these figures.”

“The SARS, from personal income tax, doesn’t even have such numbers for starters,” he noted.

Maluleke emphasised that Stats SA’s methodology adheres to international standards and is regularly reviewed to reflect the realities of the South African labour market.

However, Khaya Dlanga, a writer and public speaker, suggested that the conversation should center on whether current approaches accurately reflect South Africa today rather than clinging to historically standard metrics.

“Stats SA’s Labour Force Survey uses 30,000 households. On the other hand, Capitec has 24 million active accounts and 400+ branches, many in townships and peri-urban areas. 

“It could be argued that their daily proximity to informal activity gives them a better read on economic participation in the margins,” Dlanga said.

thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za

IOL Politics

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