The South African labour market has a down-to-earth and practical approach. It considers the evidence and identifies some urgent discussion points about the sensitivity of employment to economic growth. Four appendix chapters deal extensively with globalisation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, labour market outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic period, consensus-seeking institutions such as Nedlac, as well as detailed labour market statistics from 1995–2021. Questions and study suggestions are included at the end of each chapter.

Contents include the following:

• Unique characteristics of the labour market
• Labour supply and labour demand
• Employment in the formal and informal sectors
• Wages and the cost of labour
• Unions, collective bargaining and minimum wages
• Productivity and labour market flexibility
• Unemployment and active labour market policy for job creation
• Human capital and the demand for skilled workers
• Inequalities and discrimination