FILE PHOTO: PIXABAY
South Africa's unemployment rate dropped during the third quarter of 2024.
And while opposition parties have mostly welcomed the marginal decrease, some say the number still remains stubbornly high.
Statistics South Africa on Tuesday revealed that the unemployment rate decreased from 33.5% in the second quarter of 2024 to 32.1% in the third quarter.
ActionSA called for bolder measures to tackle joblessness, the GOOD party repeated its call for a basic income grant while the Democratic Alliance said the stats attest to its foremost commitment to South Africans: sustainable, inclusive economic growth and meaningful job creation.
It said, however, that the results "must be viewed more broadly".
"Our youth unemployment continues to sit unacceptably high at 43.2% In the expanded definition, which includes South Africans discouraged to seek work or economically inactive, our unemployment rate continues to sit at a high 41.9%," the DA said in a statement.
The GOOD party highlighted that "eight million South Africans were unemployed, with no income to support their families."
"There is also a disproportionate burden on the youth with approximately 3.5 million out of 10.3 million young people aged 15-24 years not in employment, education or training," GOOD said.
"South Africa is stuck in an economic growth crisis, trapping millions of South Africans in unemployment and unacceptable levels of poverty, more especially young and black South Africans," the party said.
"[Tuesday's] report by StatsSA emphasize the moral and legal duty of the state to provide basic income support."
ActionSA said it would be advocating for stricter regulation of the township economy through its proposed #Spaza4Locals Amendment Bill.
ActionSA said #Spaza4Locals has "a specific focus on township and community retail outlets called spazas to empower South Africans economically and ensure safer, community-centered businesses."
"These measures aim to create thousands of jobs within the informal sector, fostering a thriving and sustainable township economy that benefits local residents directly.
"Behind the horrific unemployment statistics are real stories and real lives, stories of economic hardship, despair, hopelessness, dashed dreams, and lost agency. We need bold initiatives to address unemployment figures; we simply cannot continue business as usual," ActionSA said in its statement.
