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Business Times reports that Statistics SA has announced that the official unemployment rate grew from 32.1% to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2024, with the unemployment rate according to the expanded definition increasing to 41.9%.
"The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey indicate that the number of employed persons increased by 22,000 to 16.7-million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023," according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey released on Tuesday. But, unemployed people increased by 330,000 to 8.2-million. Discouraged jobseekers decreased by 1,000 in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. This resulted in a net decrease of 215,000 in the not economically active population. The largest increases in employment were recorded in trade, where jobs went up to 109,000; followed by manufacturing, which employed 99,000; private households, where 44,000 people had jobs; and transport, which accounted for 39,000 jobs. Decreases in employment were recorded in community and social services; construction; finance; and utilities. Provinces where the number of employed people increased include KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Northern Cape. Employment decreases were recorded in the Western Cape, the North West, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. Jobs in the Free State remained unchanged.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at BusinessLive
- See too, Unemployment rises in Q1, pressuring the ANC before elections, at Moneyweb
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page