Cape Town – Statistics South Africa has announced that the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 32.7% in the last quarter of 2022.
It said the country’s official unemployment rate decreased by 0.2% from 32.9% in the third quarter of 2022.
The unemployment rate, according to the expanded definition of unemployment, also decreased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 42.6% in Q4:2022 compared to Q3:2022.
According to Stats SA, a survey indicated that 169 000 people were employed in the third quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2022, bringing the total number of employed people to 15.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“The number of unemployed people in South Africa increased from 4.7 million in Q4:2012 to 7.8 million in Q4:2022. The proportion of those in long-term unemployment increased from 68.2% in Q4:2012 to 78,3% in Q4:2022,” Stats SA said.
[?] South Africa’s official #unemployment rate decreased by 0,2 of a percentage point to 32,7%.#StatsSA pic.twitter.com/WQtd6tTvfR
— Stats SA (@StatsSA) February 28, 2023
Last year, the country’s unemployment rate was the highest in the world but employers found it difficult to hire for those jobs, reported BusinessTech.
The report said analysts forecast that the country’s unemployment rate was leaning toward 40%, as the country was unable to absorb younger employees into the job market.
However, a number of companies in the country have raised concerns about the lack of skilled workers, the report said.
“Of 30 emerging market economies, South Africa had the largest share of mismatched workers, at more than 50% of the total, and the lowest productivity levels, according to Boston Consulting Group. The OECD forecasts that unemployment will not fall below the 30% threshold before the end of 2023,” the report quoted Moody as saying.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
