The official unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2023 stood at 32.9%.
Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) says the latest Quarterly Labour Survey figures indicate that the number of employed persons increased by 258 000 to 16.2 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.
The number of unemployed persons declined by 179 000 to 7.9 million during the same quarter.
Stats SA says the changes in employment and unemployment resulted in the official unemployment rate increasing by 0.2 of a percentage point from 32.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 32.9% in the first quarter of this year.
The unemployment rate according to the expanded definition decreased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 42.4% in Quarter 1 of this year compared to the Fourth Quarter last year.
[Thread] SA’s official #unemployment rate stands at 32,9%. There were 179 000 more people who were unemployed in Q1:2023 than in Q4:2022. #StatsSA pic.twitter.com/IQf0o0L10g
— Stats SA (@StatsSA) May 16, 2023
