STATS SA ANNOUNCES SLIGHT RISE IN UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES

Stats SA has announced that the unemployment rate quarter-to-quarter increased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 27.1% despite significant growth of jobs in some sectors.

The figures are included in the third quarter labour force survey released in Pretoria today.

Stats SA says while employment grew by 288,000 jobs, this was offset by the increase in the number of people looking for work by 239,000.

Statistician General Pali Lehohla explains the reason for the growth in the number of people looking for work.

“Simultaneously, as we look at an increasing unemployment number of 27.1%, there’s also an increase in number of people who’ve been employed. The point is when people see that there’s employment, their job search behaviour changes, they start searching.”