Jobs lost, jobs found - what's true?

8 May 2013

Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel says it is government's economic policy to create jobs and that the country has experienced a net gain of 199‚000 jobs over the past year. This follows Statistics SA's announcement that 100,000 more people where unemployed in the first quarter of this year.

Image: GCIS

Speaking at a press briefing ahead of delivering his budget vote speech on Tuesday (7 May)‚ Patel said that 44‚000 new jobs were created during the first quarter of this year.

"The major challenge for us (government and the country) is that at the beginning of every year there is a rush of new job seekers as learners finish schooling‚ at universities and at further education and training colleges and we don't have enough jobs to absorb them all."

On Monday (6 May) Statistics SA's Quarterly Labour Force Survey showed the number of unemployed rose by 100‚000 to 4.6-million in the first quarter‚ taking the official unemployment rate to 25.2% from 24.9%.

In his budget vote speech‚ Patel said he appreciated the creation of 150‚000 jobs by the national infrastructure build programme.

He said the 20-year‚ R4tn infrastructure build programme served as a blueprint for "our generation".

Patel said that some of the contributors to job creation through the public investment programme‚ which reached 7.5% of GDP in 2012‚ included: S'hambe Sonke road building initiative that created 31‚000 jobs; the accelerated schools and higher education infrastructure with 10‚300 jobs created; Eskom's Kusile power stations that was creating 11‚000 jobs; and Eskom's roll-out of electrification and transmission lines that employed 10‚800 people.

Source: I-Net Bridge

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