This research brief is based on the synthesis of findings from three qualitative studies that were conducted by post graduate students of the MPhil in Social Policy and Development offered by the Centre for Social Development in Africa and the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at UJ and a Doctoral study supervised by Leila Patel, DSI/NRF Chair in Welfare and Social Development and Sophie Plagerson at UJ. The qualitative studies provide insight into the types of livelihood activities of grant beneficiaries. It does not however tell us about the extent to which grant beneficiaries engage in informal work and income generating activities and which groups of beneficiaries are most likely to do so. A quantitative analysis was therefore conducted of the employment status of social grant beneficiaries disaggregated by formal employment, unemployment and informal employment segmented by grant types. Household survey data from 2008 to 2021 are used. The findings confirm low formal labour market participation of grant beneficiaries, very high unemployment with three out to ten grant beneficiaries engaging in some sort of informal work. Informal work is taken to be employment in the informal economy and self employment is work in unregistered enterprises and that do not pay tax. This research brief presents findings from both the quantitative and
qualitative data and provides pointers for combining cash transfers with livelihoods support.