Rise in unemployment was expected: Jammine

Chief Economist at Econometrix, Azar Jammine says the rise in the unemployment rate was expected given the constrained economic environment of little-to-no growth.

Jammine’s comments come after data released by Statistics South Africa showed that the unemployment rate increased from 32.9% in the first quarter to 33.5% in the second quarter of 2024. The data shows that there was a decrease of 92 000 employed persons to reach 16.7 million, while the number of unemployed persons increased by 158 000 to 8.4 million compared to the first quarter.

“It’s not surprising, it’s a continuation of the lacklustre nature of the SA economy and the fact that we are seeing far more people entering the job market than the economy is able to grow and as a result we are seeing the rise in the unemployment rate.” Statistician General Risenga Maluleke says there have been a lot of job losses in the hotel and restaurant sector.

Story credit: SABC News