South Africa’s unemployment rate reached a record high of 35.3 % in the fourth quarter of 2021, with more than 7 million people actively seeking employment, and the youth of South Africa comprise the largest portion of the unemployed population. Business Day reports that, according to Stats SA, the official unemployment rate nudged up to 35.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021, from 34.9% in the previous three months. The number was slightly worse than the 35.1% median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, which also reported that SA’s rate was the highest among 82 countries it monitors. The higher rate could also be partially explained by previously discouraged people looking for work again.
Poor administration and inefficient network infrastructure, including weak execution of government plans are partly to blame for the crisis South Africa finds itself in, with Covid-19 not being the only ‘plus 1’ culprit anymore. Labour movement, Cosatu has warned that there is an imminent danger that the unemployment rate might rise even further in the coming quarter as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In addition, the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation has confirmed that investors have little to no business confidence in South Africa, which is one of the biggest contributors to South Africa’s unemployment record.
Even though the statistics show that South Africa has reached a new high for its unemployment figures, the country’s top recruiters are positive and have confirmed that the hiring activity in the country is growing in the three main sectors, being Finance, Marketing and Sales.
Positions for Real Estate Agents, Financial Service Agents, Payroll and Events Planning, to name a few, are currently in high demand. And most of those job listings are registered within the Gauteng Province.
