EMBATTLED SA IS STILL CREATING JOBS DESPITE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BEING SLIGHTLY HIGHER

Statistic SA reported on Tuesday revealed that in the first quarter of 2023, the official unemployment rate increased to 32.9%, from the fourth quarter of last year.

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) shows that the report released has seen an increase in the number of unemployed people by an astounding 179 000 to 7.9 million

Since the inception of the survey, the rate of unemployment had always increased in the first quarter of each year before the national lockdown. This is due to school leavers and students entering the market. This year, the workforce grew by 437 000 people, with the youth unemployment rate increasing by 1.1 percentage points to 46.5% in the first quarter. The agency noted.

Economic unit from Nedbank said the number of unemployment also increased based on the previously discouraged employment seekers are now trying to break into the market and find jobs, They are now classified as “unemployed” instead of “not economically active”.

The number of employed persons increased to 16.2 million by 258 000  in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 overall.

FNB senior economist, Thanda Sithole. “The employment recovery has been sustained with 1 910 271 cumulative net employment gains over the past six quarters,”

Total employment is still below pre-Covid levels, but it is at least trending upwards, Nedbank added.

Both the formal and informal sectors recorded increases in employment of 209 000 and 107 000, respectively. Finance, community and social services, and agriculture created the most jobs. But there were fewer positions in private households as well as small decreases in trade, mining, construction and manufacturing.