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South Africa’s unemployment rate rose by 0.6 percentage points, reaching 33.5% in Q2 2024, up from 32.9% in Q1 2024, according to the government’s statistics office on Tuesday.
As Africa’s most industrialized economy, South Africa has faced challenges in job creation, exacerbated by a prolonged recession and the recent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of unemployed people has grown to 8.4 million, a sharp increase from 5.2 million in 2014.
In Q2 2024, the number of employed persons dropped by 92,000, bringing the total to 16.7 million. The sectors hardest hit were trade, agriculture, and construction. However, manufacturing, social services, and utilities saw modest job gains.
These figures are the first to be released since the May elections, which resulted in a coalition government prioritizing economic recovery. Unemployment was a central issue in the election, likely contributing to the ANC’s loss of its absolute majority.
The statistics office highlighted that the most significant job losses occurred in the Western Cape, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
