Johannesburg, December 1, 2018 : Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), has reported that the unemployment rate increased by 0.5% from 34.4 percent in the second quarter 2021 to 34.9 percent in the third quarter 2021. According to Xinhua news agency, this was the highest level ever of unemployment since 2008.
Stats SA reported Tuesday that the number of people working fell by 660,000 to 13.5 million in the third quarter 2021.The expanded definition of unemployment includes people who have given-up looking for work and rose from 2.2 percent to 46.6 percent over the same period.
The report revealed that seven out of eight industries in formal sector suffered job losses, with the exception of finance, which saw an increase of 138,000.
The trade sector saw the largest decline in employment, followed closely by community and social service, construction, and private households.
Cosatu, the largest trade union federation in the country, stated that the report paints a grim picture of the country’s unemployment.
Sizwe Pamla, spokesperson of Cosatu, stated that, despite the loosening of harsh lockdown measures there has been no significant improvement in job creation.
Pamla said that this was at the root of the country’s nonemployment growth trajectory.It must be addressed by rebuilding South Africa’s economy.
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