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Fin24 reports that SA’s jobless increased to 6.5 million in the third quarter of the year, according to Statistics SA’s (Stats SA’s) quarterly labour force survey released on Thursday.
The data showed that the official unemployment rate increased to a record 30.8% in the quarter. "Unemployment increased substantially by 2.2 million to 6.5 million compared to quarter two of 2020 resulting in an increase of 2.8 million (up by 15.1%) in the number of people in the labour force," Stats SA reported. The expanded unemployment rate increased to 43.1% in the third quarter. "Compared to a year ago, total employment decreased by 1.7 million," Stats SA reported. Bureau of Economic Research senior economist Lisette IJssel de Schepper had previously observed that the third quarter unemployment stats would be one of the first indicators of the "permanent damage" to the economy and labour market due to the Covid-19 lockdown. It could still take a number of years for employment to return to pre-lockdown levels, said De Schepper on the release of the third quarter data. Economists expect unemployment to worsen in the coming quarters. Well-known economist Mike Schüssler sees unemployment peaking at around 40% in the first quarter of next year.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lameez Omarjee at Fin24
- Read too, SA’s unemployment rate reached record high of 30.8%, at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page