South Africa Jobless Rate Stays at 11-Year High in 3rd Quarter

(Bloomberg) --

South Africa’s unemployment rate stayed at the highest level in at least 11 years in the third quarter as construction, factories and trade shed jobs.

The jobless rate increased to 29.1% from 29% in the three months through June, Statistics South Africa said in a report released Tuesday in the capital Pretoria. The median estimate of four economists in a Bloomberg survey was for 29%.

Key Insights

• The unemployment rate in Africa’s most-industrialized economy has remained above 20% for at least two decades, largely due to insufficient economic growth. Gross domestic product hasn’t expanded by more than 2% a year since 2013.
• The lack of employment has add to social tensions that dent the country’s status as an investment destination and erodes business confidence. That present a challenge for President Cyril Ramaphosa as he seeks to rebuild the economy.
• At 30,000 the manufacturing industry cut the most jobs followed by construction, which lost 24,000 posts. Mining and agriculture each added 38,000.

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