SA’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 32.9%, 7.7 Million People Still Jobless

• The unemployment rate in South Africa has seen some improvement, with a 1% drop from second-quarter statistics
• This means that approximately 204 000 people secured jobs in the third quarter of 2022; however, 7.7 million remain jobless
• Though the unemployment rate has improved slightly, it is still very far from the 14% target the ANC was supposed to reach in 2020

PRETORIA - Statistic SA reported good news to South Africans on Tuesday, 29 November, as the nation's unemployment rate has improved slightly, dropping from 33.9% to 32.9% in the third quarter of 2022, meaning 7.7 million people are unemployed.

This is a marked improvement from the fourth quarter states from 2021, which indicated that unemployment was at a record high of 35.3%.

Though a 1% drop doesn't seem significant, News24 reported that the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) indicated that a whopping 204 000 jobs were acquired between the second and third quarters of 2022. These job gains were in manufacturing, trade construction and transport.

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Some job losses were recorded between the third and fourth quarters, with the finance sector, private households, ming and agriculture collectively losing approximately 117 000 employees.

The expanded unemployment rate, including those who have stopped seeking jobs, also dropped by 1% from 44.1% to 43.1% in the third quarter.

Though the third quarter stats are a slight improvement from previous unemployment rates, the current states still fall short of the African National Congress's target of 14% unemployment which it endeavoured to achieve by 2020. According to Bloomberg, the continued joblessness, high food and fuel prices and constant interest-rate hikes threaten social stability in the nation, similar to that which caused the July riots in 2021.

South Africans react to the improvement in SA's unemployment rate

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South Africans believe the states are cooked up because the state of the economy indicates otherwise.

Below are some comments:

@MngoAaron claimed:

"These numbers don't add up. That's not what we see in reality."

@watchdog_za added:

"All the markets have contracted, and many businesses closed.I call BS."

@AyandaSounders commented:

"There's no big difference."

@Siyanda_1011 remarked:

"wow."

@_Karabo_s questioned:

"Drops?"

Analysts warn inflation and poor exports mean SA will experience slowest growth of African economies in 2023

Earlier, Briefly News reported that South Africa's economic growth is set to lag far behind counterpart countries on the African continent, according to forecasters and analysts at Oxford Economics Africa.

Oxford Economics Africa released its African 2023 Outlook on Friday, 25 November, indicating that the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) will only grow by 1% in 2023.

The meek growth is in stark contrast to the projected increase in Senegal, which is expected to be Africa's fastest-growing economy with a GDP of 7%.

Source: Briefly News