Statistics South Africa said that the Eastern Cape was one of four provinces with the highest quarterly increase in the unemployment rate.
Stats SA released the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2017 on Monday.
According to the Stats SA statement the quarterly figures indicate that employment declined by 113 000 to approximately 16.1 million.
"However, the number of job-seekers also declined by 37 000 to approximately 6.2 million resulting in the unemployment rate remaining unchanged at 27,7%. Over the same period the absorption
rate (employment to population ratio), which is a proportion of those who are employed among the population aged 15-64 declined by 0,4 of a percentage point to 43,3%," Stats SA said.
The net quarterly employment decline of 113 000 in Q2: 2017 was driven by six of the ten industries.
"The largest decreases were recorded in Construction (110 000) and Agriculture (40 000). However, employment gains were observed in Trade (58 000), Finance (17 000), Manufacturing (10 000) and Utilities (2 000)," said Statistician General, Pali Lehohla.
"The number of employed persons decreased in five of the nine provinces between Q1: 2017 and Q2:2017. The largest employment losses were recorded in Gauteng (143 000) and Eastern Cape (26 000), while Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal recorded employment gains of 32 000 and 29 000 respectively," he said.
The official unemployment rate remained unchanged at 27.7% quarter-to-quarter, but it increased by 1.1 percentage points year-on-year. The highest quarterly increase in the unemployment rate was recorded in Eastern Cape (5.8 percentage points), Mpumalanga (3.5 percentage points), Northern Cape (3.1 percentage points) and Free State (2.2 percentage points). Western Cape and North West were the only provinces that recorded declines in the unemployment rate.
"Young people aged 15-24 remain vulnerable in the labour market with unemployment rate of almost 56% and absorption rate of 12%. Among those in this age group, 32,2% are Not in employment, education or training (NEET). This is approximately 3,3 million young people aged 15-24 who are idle," he said.
