'SA MENSE FIRST IN SA'

SPORTS, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie says no foreign nationals will be employed in positions in his department that South Africans can fill.

- BY SIMON MAJADIBODU

After some job gains between March and December last year, the official unemployment rate which doesn't include discouraged work seekers is back to where it was (32.9 percent) a year ago.

According to a report from Statistics SA yesterday, the unemployment rate moved upwards because 291 000 people lost their jobs quarter-on-quarter, dropping the employed workforce to 16.8 million as of March this year.