Against all odds, South Africa’s official unemployment rate has decreased to 32.6%, with 154 000 more people finding work in the second quarter of this year and the number of unemployed mense decreasing by 11 000.
The largest employment increases between quarter 1 and quarter 2 were recorded in Limpopo, up by 80 000, followed by the Western Cape ( up by 54 000), KwaZulu-Natal (48 000).
This is according to the latest findings from StatsSA, which released its Q2 findings of Statistics SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) yesterday.
The province with the highest unemployment rate is the North West at 53.5%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal 46.7%, the Northern and Eastern Cape both at 43.3%, Mpumalanga 49.5%, Limpopo 47.9%, Free State 44.0%, and Gauteng 39.3%.
The Western Cape has the lowest unemployment rate at 25.3%.
The survey revealed that 368 000 jobs were created in the province, between the second quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023.
That is a 15.7% increase in employed people year-on-year, well ahead of all other provinces, with Gauteng creating 201 000 jobs over the same period.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said: “We are making significant inroads in beating back unemployment and poverty, thanks to our efforts to enable and empower the private sector.”
Cape Town has added 262 000 new jobs over the last year, and 56 000 new jobs in the last quarter alone.
“Cape Town has now had six straight quarters of positive jobs growth, with the lowest unemployment rate of the metros.
“This is evidence of how the Cape Town economy is booming, and is now the heart of national economic growth,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. -DailyVOICE
