SA unemployment hits new high in fourth quarter
South Africa’s unemployment rate increased further during the fourth quarter of 2021 – reaching a new record high.
Stats SA announced on Tuesday that the number of unemployed people increased by 278,000 to 7.9 million, up from 7.6 million in the previous quarter.
The official unemployment rate now stands at 35.3%.
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This is an increase of 0.4 of a percentage point from the third quarter of 2021.
Unemployment rate according to the expanded definition of unemployment decreased by 0.4 of a percentage point to 46.2% in the fourth quarter.
#Unemployment There's currently 7.9 million unemployed people in the country. pic.twitter.com/VeTlx5mh0K
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) March 29, 2022
Black women continue to bear the brunt of the country’s jobs crisis.
At least 42.4% of the population group is unemployed, which is 4.2% higher than the national average.
