Job boon as SA economy grows

UNEMPLOYMENT: DECLINED TO 32.1%; 'STILL SHOCKINGLY HIGH'

- Ina Opperman

South Africa's unemployment rate for the third quarter decreased to 32.1% thanks to post-election optimism.

The number of employed people increased by 294,000 to 16.9 million, marking the biggest quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2023, while the number of unemployed people decreased by 373,000 to 8 million.

Jee-A van der Linde, senior economist at Oxford Economics Africa, said although the rate was still shockingly high, they forecast unemployment gradually drifting lower over the coming quarters, thanks to the improved economic growth outlook.

"Although the directional change in the unemployment rate was in line with our expectations, the magnitude of the decline was bigger than we anticipated. We expect South Africa's employment rate to continue its decline over the coming quarters on the back of businesses being more optimistic about the domestic economy."

He said although businesses were less gloomy than before the elections in May, there was a lot of ground to cover.