The unemployment rate retreated for the third consecutive quarter, according to data released by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday.
The rate — which prior to the second quarter of 2022 had climbed towards record levels — now stands at 32.9% of the labour force, down from 33.9% previously.
According to the data, 204 000 jobs were gained between the second quarter and the third quarter of 2022, bringing the total number of employed people to 15.8 million. The number
Of unemployed people decreased by 269 000 to 7.7 million.
The expanded unemployment rate — which also counts job seekers who have given up on the search — was 43.1% in the third quarter of 2022, down from 44.1% in the previous three months.
While the number of discouraged work seekers decreased by 54 000, the number of people who were not economically active increased by 264 000 between the two quarters, resulting in a net increase of 210 000 in the not-economically-active population.
The data seemingly cements the slow path of recovery on the jobs front. This is after the pandemic and the attendant lockdown wiped out 2.2 million jobs in the second quarter of 2020.
The economy had only recovered a net 396 000 jobs by the fourth quarter of 2021 and the country’s already high unemployment rate continued to soar, until the first quarter of 2022 saw a welcome retreat in jobless levels.
According to Tuesday’s data, the largest job gains in the third quarter were in the manufacturing, trade, construction and transport sectors. Job losses were recorded in finance, private households, mining and agriculture.
Sarah Smit
Sarah Smit is a general news reporter at the Mail & Guardian. She covers topics relating to labour, corruption and the law.
