SA will continue to see hike in unemployment 'for foreseeable future': Economist
South Africa's unemployment rate will continue on an upward trajectory until the economy is structurally changed.
That's the view of economist Francois Stofberg.
Figures released by Stats SA on Tuesday revealed joblessness went up by 32.6% in the first quarter of the year, the highest since 2008.
Stofberg says the increase of 0.1 of a percentage point compared to the final quarter of 2020 didn't come as a surprise.
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But the figure was expected to be higher.
"Until you can get government to do what they are supposed to do and allow the private sector to do what they are supposed to do you will continue to see unemployment increase for the foreseeable future," says Stofberg.
"The figure is surprising many, but it's not something that we weren't expecting. Last year we would of seen similar figures - maybe even higher but the figure actually looked a lot better than it should have been."
Youth between the ages of 15 and 24 years and 25-34 years recorded the highest unemployment rates of 63,3% and 41,3%, respectively.
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