South Africa’s unemployment rate rose by 0.6 percentage points, from 32.9% in the first quarter of 2024 to 33.5% in the second quarter, according to a report released by the government’s statistics office on Tuesday.
The increase reflects ongoing challenges in Africa’s most industrialized economy, which has struggled to create jobs due to a prolonged recession and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. As of Q2 2024, approximately 8.4 million people were unemployed, up significantly from 5.2 million in 2014.
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The number of employed individuals fell by 92,000 to 16.7 million during the same period. Job losses were most pronounced in the trade, agriculture, and construction sectors, while only manufacturing, social services, and utilities saw employment gains.
These figures are the first released since the May elections, which resulted in the formation of a coalition government with a focus on reviving the struggling economy. Unemployment was a major issue in the election, contributing to the African National Congress (ANC) losing its absolute majority.
The statistics office noted that the most significant employment declines occurred in the Western Cape, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
