South Africa unemployment hits 29 percent
Joblessness in South Africa has reached 29 percent, the highest level since
the country's quarterly labour force survey was introduced 11 years ago, the
statistics office said on Tuesday.
"The unemployment rate increased by 1.4 percentage points from 27.6 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 29.0 percent in the second quarter of 2019," StatsSA said in its quarterly report.
"This is the highest level recorded since ...2008," said StatsSA.
The latest figures pile pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa's newly elected administration which campaigned in the May elections with promises of reviving the economy and creating jobs.
Some 49,000 jobs were lost during the quarter with the mining, transport,
construction trade and banking sectors shedding the most jobs.
South Africa’s #unemployment rate increased to 29,0% in Q2:2019, up by 1,4 percentage points from Q1:2019. This is the highest level recorded since the introduction of the QLFS in 2008. The highest level was 29,3% in March 2003 #StatsSA https://t.co/yyznAhpneT pic.twitter.com/noSNDr00dP
— Stats SA (@StatsSA) July 30, 2019
South Africa's banks, mining and construction sectors have in recent months signalled mass layoffs as gross domestic product contracted by 3.2 percent in the first three months of 2019 in Africa's most developed economy, the largest quarterly drop in about 10 years.
