Unemployment rate rises to 32.9% in first quarter

GUEST - Risenga Maluleke – Statistician-General, Stats SA.<br /> <br /> The official unemployment rate increased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2023, from the fourth quarter of last year, Statistics SA reported on Tuesday. However, this was due to a large number of people who classified themselves as "not economically active" in the fourth quarter, who instead categorised themselves as "unemployed" in the first quarter of 2023. "It was observed that a large number of persons moved from the 'not economically active' category to 'employed' and 'unemployed' statuses between the two quarters, which resulted in an increase of 0.2 of a percentage point in the unemployment rate to 32.9%," Statistics SA said. <a href="http://www.kayafm.co.za/">Kaya FM </a>