ALARMING: South Africa’s unemployment hits record highs
SA’s jobless rate has risen to a near record, continuing a trend that’s seen the number of unemployed grow by more than 60% in 10 years
South Africa’s unemployment rate climbed to near-record levels in the second quarter of 2024, marking a continued trend that has seen the number of jobless individuals increase by over 60 percent in the past decade, according to official data released on Tuesday.
Around 8.4 million people unemployed in South Africa
The unemployment rate hit 33.5 percent between April and June, up by 0.6 percentage point from the previous quarter, national statistics agency StatsSA said.
That is close to the record 35.3 percent reached in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.
About 8.4 million people were out of work, up from 5.2 million in 2014, it said.
Including people who have given up looking for work, the jobless rate was a staggering 42.6 percent, up from 41.9 percent in the first quarter, StatsSA added.
The number of people working in the formal sector was down but informal sector employment was up by 100 000 or 3.3 percent over the same period last year, it added.
Africa’s most industrialised economy
The new figures were the first to be released since elections in May brought in a new coalition government that has put boosting the country’s sluggish economy top of the agenda.
Unemployment was a key political issue in the vote that saw the long-ruling African National Congress lose its absolute majority in parliament for the first time in three decades.
The difficulty to find jobs has in the past fuelled protests as well as anti-foreigner sentiment.
Young people in particular lament the lack of prospects in what is usually regarded as Africa’s most industrialised economy.