There has been much debate in South Africa over the past decade concerning national employment and unemployment statistics (see, for example, Standing et al, 1996; Bhorat, 1999; Klasen and Woolard, 1999; Schlemmer and Levitz, 1999; Nattrass, 2000). This followed the introduction in the 1990s of household surveys that for the first time in the country captured detailed information on individual employment status. The debate about statistics intensified more recently in the run-up to the 2004 national election. The statement by the ANC government that “the economy created two million net new jobs since 1995” based on these surveys, in particular provoked considerable discussion in the media as to whether these trends are credible.2