PHUTI MOSOMANE
ACCORDING to the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) published by Statistics South Africa, the number of employed persons in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 258,000 to reach 16.2 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.
Simultaneously, the number of unemployed persons rose by 179,000 to reach 7.9 million during the same quarter. On the other hand, the number of individuals who were not economically active due to reasons other than discouragement decreased by 209,000 to reach 13.2 million.
The number of discouraged work-seekers decreased by 87,000 in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, resulting in a net decrease of 296,000 in the population categorized as not economically active.
As a result of the changes in employment and unemployment, the official unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points from 32.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to
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