It’s been a tough two years since COVID-19 shook the global workforce, with South Africa being no exception.However, good news, no matter how slight, is still uplifting, and Stats SA’s recent labour force survey for 2022’s first quarter is exactly that.
Statstics South Africa announced today that there were 370 000 jobs gained between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
“The above changes in employment and unemployment resulted in the official unemployment rate decreasing by 0,8 of a percentage point from 35,3% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 34,5% in the first quarter of 2022,” said Stats SA.
Stats SA noted that the biggest job gains were seen in Community and Social Services (281 000), Manufacturing (263 000) and Trade (98 000).
However, there were losses in private households (186 000), Finance (72 000), Construction (60 000) and Agriculture (23 000), it added.
Overall, 14.9 million South Africans were recorded as employed for this year’s first quarter, and the unemployed youth rate decline slightly by 01.%.
Of work trends the data reveals that in the Western Cape and Gauteng, working from home populations was higher than in any other province.
The unemployment rate in the Western Cape as an official unemployment rate dropped from the last quarter of 2021 to 25,2%.
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