BL Premium reports that SA’s unemployment rate fell by more than expected in the second quarter, helped mostly by a sizeable increase in formal sector employment.

However, at 32.6% it remained exceedingly high by both historical and international standards. Stats SA data released on Tuesday showed the official unemployment rate inched down by 0.3 of a percentage point from 32.9% in the first quarter of 2023. SA managed to create more than 2-million jobs over the past seven quarters. In the second quarter, the unemployment rate according to the expanded definition decreased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 42.1%. The economy added 153,914 jobs in the second quarter, a 1% quarterly increase compared to the first three months of the year. The increase in quarterly employment was broad-based, with six out of 10 sectors recording job gains. But the prevailing economic weakness alongside the impact of load-shedding and the country’s logistics challenges continue to pose a downside risk to the ongoing labour market momentum. SA youth unemployment registered at 60.7% in the second quarter, or 70.1% when using the expanded definition. Stanlib chief economist Kevin Lings commented that it was clear that youth unemployment remained SA’s most important economic challenge and highlighted the extreme difficulty young people experienced in trying to obtain their first job opportunity, irrespective of qualifications.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thuletho Zwane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
• Read too, Number of employed South Africans almost back to pre-Covid level as jobless rate dips, at Fin24

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page