4.6mn jobless in South Africa- Stats SA
May 6, 2013, 12:19 pm

[AP]

The number of the unemployed was up 100,000 people from the last quarter in 2012, bringing the jobless to 4.6 million, said the Stats SA in its Quarterly Labor Force Survey.

The unemployment rate in the final quarter of 2012 was put at 24.9 per cent.

Among the unemployed, 59.4 per cent has less than secondary education, 49.1 per cent are female, 70.7 per cent are aged between 15-34 years, said the report.

The retail and wholesale trade sector has lost more than 60,000 jobs since the last quarter in 2012.

South Africa’s total population stands at 51 million noted the new release.

“Constant and good investment in education will help in lowering unemployment but there is no quick fix”, said Pali Lehlohla statistician-general for Stats SA.

The global economic crisis was one of the main drivers of the rising unemployment rate in South Africa.

Approximately one million jobs have been lost in South Africa since the economic recession in 2008.

South Africa needs to reach an annual growth rate of at least 5 per cent in order to stimulate the job market.

“The target for job creation is set at 11 million by 2030 and the economy needs to grow threefold to create the desired jobs,” President Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation address in February.

Zuma had also asserted that South Africa’s membership of BRICS will provide a boost to employment opportunities for young South Africans.

“We are certain that BRICS will contribute immensely to satisfying the employment and development needs of our young population,”President Zuma said in a speech at the Commonwealth conference in Pretoria in March.

With inputs from Agencies