South Africa's Q4 Unemployment Rate Edging Down to 32.7 Percent

The results indicate that 169,000 jobs were gained in Q4, bringing the total number of people employed to 15.9 million in the period, according to data released by Statistics South Africa.

In Q4, the country had 7.8 million people who were without work, looking for work and available to work, of whom, 6.1 million were in long-term unemployment and 1.7 million in short-term unemployment, the department said in the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey.

Unemployment levels in South Africa have been persistently higher post-2016, which reached a peak in the fourth quarter of 2021 with 7.9 million unemployed persons, the department said.

"Compared to men, women are more likely to remain unemployed for longer periods," the department said.

The level of education also plays a vital role in the employability of unemployed persons in the labor market. The findings suggest that unemployed persons with less than a matric level of education and matric qualification have a higher likelihood of being in long-term unemployment as opposed to tertiary qualifications.

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