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South Africa unemployment rate falls
February 5, 2013, 4:22 pm

Mining-SA

Strikes have not affected employment figures according to Statistics SA. [AP]

South Africa’s unemployment rate declined to 24.9 per cent in the final three months of 2012 from 25.5 per cent in the previous quarter, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.

The statistics reveal that there were 4.5 million people unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2012, down from 4.67 million in the previous three month

A wave of wildcat strikes in the platinum and gold mining sectors that began in August did not translate into a higher unemployment rate, Statistics SA said.

Of the 4.5 million people without work in the final quarter of 2012, nearly 70 per cent had been looking for work for a year or more, the statistics revealed.

Nearly two-thirds had not finished high school and 42 per cent had never worked.

Source: Agencies