Unemployment Decreases Slightly

South Africa’s unemployment rate decreased slightly from 25.5% in the second quarter to 25.4% in the third quarter.

In its Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said that unemployment decreased by 0.1% with increases in employment seen in both the formal and informal sectors.

Quarterly, large employment gains were seen in the formal sector’s construction (66 000), trade (48 000) and mining (23 000) industries. In the informal sector, the largest gains in employment were observed in the construction (33 000), manufacturing (14 000) and transport (10 000) industries over this period.

“Compared to the same period last year, employment increased by 81 000. Large annual employment gains were observed in community and social services and construction industries at 140 000 and 135 000 respectively. The largest decreases in employment were observed in private households at 83 000, agriculture 54 000 and manufacturing at 38 000 industries,” said Stats SA.

The survey, which polls households, found that the number of employed people increased by 22 000 in the third quarter. In the third quarter of 2014, the number of unemployed people decreased slightly by 3 000 to 5.2 million.

In the third quarter, the expanded definition of unemployment, which includes people who have stopped looking for work, was at 35.8% in the third quarter from 35.6% in the second quarter.

In reacting to the news, analysts said that the private sector is likely to remain reluctant to expand capacity and grow employment given a struggling local economy.

“While the public sector has buoyed employment until recently, October's Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) suggest a new resolve...