Self-employment through ride-hailing: Drivers’ experiences in Johannesburg, South Africa

Introduction According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), unemployment was 30.8% in quarter 3 of 2020 (Statistics South Africa 2020), a record high for the country. Despite annual employment growth across various industries, such as social services, agriculture and mining, employment in the manufacturing, trade, construction and utility industries declined substantially in recent years, causing the rise in South Africa’s unemployment rate. As a result, many South Africans turned to self-employment through entrepreneurship for livelihood. Mahadea and Kaseeram (2018) similarly suggest a strong push factor from unemployment to entrepreneurship – necessity entrepreneurship. This gives rise to the growing informal and township economies, where vulnerable populations such as women and youth are able to enter the labour market through enterprise (Charman 2016), and participate in the economy.