The number of
unemployed people in South Africa increased in the first quarter of
this year, mainly due to seasonal changes, official data showed on
Tuesday.
Statistics South
Africa said the official jobless rate went up to 25.0 percent of the
labour force in the first quarter of 2011 from 24.0 percent in the
fourth quarter.
This pushed the
number of unemployed people to 4.364 million in the three months to
March from 4.137 million in the fourth quarter.
“Employment traditionally declines in the first quarter,” Statistics South Africa said in a statement.
“However, the
decline … in this quarter is substantially very low compared to the
decline observed in the first quarter of 2009 and 2010.” The statistics
agency also said that if those who have given up looking for work were
included in the figures, the number of unemployed went up to 36.5
percent from 35.8 in the fourth quarter.
