If you’re a designated employer and, as such, you need to present an employment equity plan, you need to be very aware of what the term “economically active population” means.

What is Meant by “Economically Active Population”?

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the “economically active population” consists of:

“… all persons of either sex who furnish the supply of labour for the production of economic goods and services as defined by the United Nations System of National Accounts during a specified time-reference period.”

Section 15 of the Employment Equity Act (EEA) requires that all designated employers provide preferential employment for designated employee groups:

“Affirmative action measures are measures designated to ensure that suitably qualified people from designated groups have equal employment opportunities and are equitably represented in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce of a designated employer.”

In order to work out how – numerically – these employers must comply with section 15 of the Act, it is necessary to use both the National and Local Figures of each different race who are employed in each of the different provinces. These numbers will be found in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey. (For the most recent statistics, follow this link.)

At Global Business Solutions, one of our specialties is employment equity training and consulting. We are very fortunate to have extremely qualified consultants in the field of employment equity who are on hand to assist. Contact us today to see how we can help you.