Cabinet welcomes fourth quarter job increases

Cabinet on Thursday, 16 February, welcomed an increase in jobs in the fourth quarter, saying unemployment remains a top government priority.

In a statement following the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Cabinet welcomed the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) results released by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday.

“Cabinet welcomes the increase in jobs in the economy over the fourth quarter of 2016 when 235,000 jobs were created, according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey. The increase was largely driven by employment in the country’s services sector, followed by transport and manufacturing,” said Cabinet.

According to the QLFS, 16.1-million people were employed in the fourth quarter of 2016. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey collects data on the labour market activities of individuals aged 15 years and above.

The survey showed that unemployment decreased by 0.6% quarter-on-quarter, with 5.8-million being unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2016.

“The unemployment challenge remains a top government priority and all programmes and interventions are geared towards turning the situation around, especially in this tough economic environment,” Cabinet said.

The growth in jobs over the quarter resulted in a slight decrease in the unemployment rate to 26.5%.