The official unemployment rate has decreased to 34,5%

Published on

31 May 2022

By Liesl Smit

The official unemployment rate has decreased from 35,3% to 34,5% in the first quarter of 2022.

From the end of last year until the first quarter of 2022, 370 000 more people were employed in South Africa.

Statistics South Africa today released its Quarterly Labour Force Survey

The biggest job gains were recorded in Community and Social Services, Manufacturing and Trade.

Job losses were recorded in the Finance, Construction and Agricultural sectors.

The total number of persons employed was 14,9 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Under the expanded definition of unemployment, 45,5% people in South Africa are jobless. This includes people who have been discouraged from seeking employment.

The Western Cape has the lowest recorded expanded unemployment rate from all the provinces:

Liesl Smit

Liesl is the Smile 90.4FM News Manager. She has been at Smile since 2016, with nearly 20 years experience in the radio industry, including reading news, field reporting and producing. In 2008 she won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award, Western Cape region. liesl@smile904.fm