MZANSI’S economy shed 2,2 million jobs in the second quarter of the year. Statistics SA released results that show compared to the first quarter, the number of employed people dropped by 2,2 million to 14,1 million in the second.
This is the largest quarter 1 to quarter 2 decline since the survey began in 2008. According to Stats SA, the number of unemployed people declined hugely – by 2,8 million – to 4,3 million, compared to the first quarter.
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The official unemployment rate is calculated using the number of employed and unemployed people and doesn’t include discouraged work-seekers.
The big changes in the number of people in these two categories resulted in a serious decrease of 6,8% points in the official unemployment rate, from 30,1% in quarter 1 to 23,3% in the second quarter.
The unemployment rate increased in all provinces except in the Free State, where it decreased by 3,3 percentage points. The largest increase was recorded in the Northern Cape, which is up by 5,1 percentage points, followed by Eastern Cape, which is up by 3,9 percentage points.