Two unemployed South African men hold boards offering their services at a traffic intersection. File picture: EPA
THE RATE of unemployment in South Africa surprised on the downside in the three months to June as the number of jobs created during the period surpassed those that were lost.
This will be a welcome surprise as the poor economic activity due to the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the crippling rotational power cuts in the second quarter of 2022 were expected to translate to significant job losses.
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Tuesday said South Africa's unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 of a percentage point to 33.9 percent in the second quarter, down from 34.5 percent in the first quarter.
This means that unemployment in the country eased further from a record high of 35.3 percent recorded in the last quarter of 2021.
Stats SA said that the number of unemployed persons increased by 132,000 to 8 million in the period, but this was offset by the rise of 648,000 in employment to 15.6 million.
Stats SA said the unemployment rate, according to the expanded definition of unemployment, also decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 44.1 percent, down from 45.5 percent in the first quarter.
The number of discouraged work-seekers decreased by 183,000, and the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 452,000 between the two quarters, resulting in a net decrease of 635,000 in the not economically active population.
The youth unemployment rate measuring job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old fell to 61.4 percent in the second quarter of 2022, the lowest in almost two years, from 63.9 percent in the previous quarter.
More people entered the jobs market, and the labour force went up by 780,000 to 23.556 million.
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the second quarter of 2022, the biggest job gains were recorded in community and social services, trade, finance, and construction.
However, there were job losses in manufacturing and transport, which were probably affected by the impact of supply-chain disruptions and rising fuel prices due to the war in Ukraine.
– BUSINESS REPORT