SA’s jobless rate ticks up in March

PRETORIA – South Africa’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 26,5 per cent in March 2005 from 26,2 per cent last September, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said yesterday.

But it also said the labour market was largely absorbing new entrants – a crucial trend in the government’s struggle to contain high unemployment, seen as a major cause behind other social scourges including rampant violent crime. Under an expanded definition that takes account of people who have not looked for work over a four week period, the jobless rate was 40,5 per cent in March versus 41,8 per cent in September.There is always a time lag of several months in the official Labour Force Survey, which is released twice a year.”Job creation is roughly keeping pace with new entrants to the market,” said Liz Gavin, deputy director general at Stats SA.Earnings figures released last month showed that employment in South Africa’s non-farm sector fell unexpectedly in the first quarter of 2005, casting doubt over the success of efforts to reduce the country’s steep jobless rate.But other surveys and studies have suggested the economy – which is on a faster growth trajectory, spurred by low interest rates and rising government spending – has been creating jobs.An independent study by brokerage firm T-sec released in April said South Africa’s formal non-farm sector has been a net creator of jobs for the past three years, reversing several years of job losses over a period of painful economic restructuring.South Africa’s governing African National Congress aims to halve the jobless rate by 2014, and is considering labour reform as part of efforts to boost growth and create more jobs.- Nampa-ReutersUnder an expanded definition that takes account of people who have not looked for work over a four week period, the jobless rate was 40,5 per cent in March versus 41,8 per cent in September.There is always a time lag of several months in the official Labour Force Survey, which is released twice a year.”Job creation is roughly keeping pace with new entrants to the market,” said Liz Gavin, deputy director general at Stats SA.Earnings figures released last month showed that employment in South Africa’s non-farm sector fell unexpectedly in the first quarter of 2005, casting doubt over the success of efforts to reduce the country’s steep jobless rate.But other surveys and studies have suggested the economy – which is on a faster growth trajectory, spurred by low interest rates and rising government spending – has been creating jobs.An independent study by brokerage firm T-sec released in April said South Africa’s formal non-farm sector has been a net creator of jobs for the past three years, reversing several years of job losses over a period of painful economic restructuring.South Africa’s governing African National Congress aims to halve the jobless rate by 2014, and is considering labour reform as part of efforts to boost growth and create more jobs.- Nampa-Reuters