The South African government continued to work hard to ensure that the economy retained jobs and created new ones in order to beef up its economic recovery plan, Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said on Thursday.
Ntshavheni said this when she addressed a post-Cabinet media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday.
Ntshavheni said the executive had noted with concern the results of the country’s recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey, which revealed that the country’s unemployment rate had reached 32.6% in the first three months of 2021.
During the period, the number of those employed remained almost unchanged at 15 million, with a slight decrease of 28,000, she said.
However, she added that the Cabinet also noted that the economy grew by 1.1% in the first quarter of 2021, translating into an annualised growth rate of 4.6%.
This followed a revised 1.4% or annualised at 5.8% rise in the real GDP in the fourth quarter of 2021. The growth in the GDP was also on the back of the decline in employment which remains at 7.2 million currently, the minister said.
NM/jn/APA