Headache for Ramaphosa as unemployment rises
The unemployment rate rose by half a percentage point in the first quarter of 2019.
Statistician-general Risenga Maluleke released the latest stats in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The job losses focused on the construction, finance and social sectors, with 6.2 million people unemployed in the first quarter of 2019 - the highest level since the third quarter of 2017.
“The unemployment rate for South Africa in Q1 of 2019, is sitting at 27.6% having seen an increase of 0.5% pp quarter-on-quarter,” said Maluleke.
“We have seen more employment gains in the area of transport with about 59 000 jobs that have been gained and the losses were more in construction, with such losses accounting for 142 000 jobs.”
Data by Stats SA revealed that the rate of unemployment has remained consistently high over a ten year period.
Stats SA has also found that there is a correlation between unemployment and the level of education.
“We can see that when you have better education you have a better chance of acquiring employment,” adds Maluleke.
LISTEN BELOW FOR MORE.