Unemployment rate rises to 32.5%

23rd February 2021 By: Creamer Media Reporter

Unemployment rate rises to 32.5%

Photo by: Creamer Media

South Africa's official unemployment rate increased by 1.7 percentage points to 32.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020, the highest since Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) started publishing its Quarterly Labour Force Survey in 2008.

Stats SA reports that the number of employed persons increased by 333 000 quarter-on-quarter to 15-million in the fourth quarter of 2020, while the number of unemployed persons also increased by 701 000 to 7.2-million.

The number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 235 000 and the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 1.1-million.

Stats SA points out that the unemployment rate, according to the expanded definition, had decreased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 42.6% in the fourth quarter.