Unemployment increased in SA this year, with men the hardest hit by the decline in jobs.
Statistics SA (Stats SA) released its quarterly Labour Force Survey figures on Tuesday. The survey indicates that unemployment rose to 25.2 percent in the first three months of this year. This is an increase of 1.3 percent on the last quarter of 2011 and equates to about 282 000 jobs.
Total employment is still higher than it was between January and September last year and, apart from the final quarter of last year, this is the highest it has been since July 2009. Despite this, unemployment is increasing as the labour force continues to grow rapidly, according to Stats SA.
Men made up the majority of the increased unemployment figures, with their unemployment rates almost five times higher than women’s. Overall, though, women are still more likely to be unemployed.
Both Business Unity SA (Busa) and Cosatu were quick to express their concern.
Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven labelled the trend “utterly demoralising” and blamed the “casualisation of labour” in the country.
Busa said unemployment in SA should be reduced through “back-to-basics education, skills development, inclusive wage-setting, and improved state capacity and infrastructure”.
Stats SA said the common trend was for employment to drop in the first quarter of the year, after the increase in jobs during the festive season.
The Indian/Asian group was the only population group to show a decline in unemployment, while unemployment increased among coloured people. The African and white population groups’ unemployment rates remained relatively stable.
brendan.roane@inl.co.za
The Star