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President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- Ramaphosa says the cabinet is in the process of finalizing a program to return to growth and rebound in employment.
- The president said that the implementation of the Presidential Employment Stimulus plan will soon begin to support the protection of employment in vulnerable sectors.
- Employment figures released by Statistics South Africa reflect the largest decline in jobs between Q2 and Q1 since 2008.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says Tuesday’s unemployment data, which showed 2.2 million jobs were lost in the second quarter of the year, calls for additional measures to support SA’s ailing economy that has been hit by the shutdown. of Covid-19.
Employment figures released by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday reflected the largest decline in jobs between the second and first quarters since 2008.
The president said the cabinet was in the process of finalizing a program for the return to growth and job recovery, following agreements with the social partners in the National Council for Economic Development and Labor.
“Our success in responding to this unprecedented crisis will be measured by the speed of our job market’s recovery,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
“In addition to the relief measures that we have already implemented, we must ensure that all jobs lost during the crisis are replaced and that more jobs are created so that we can significantly reduce unemployment.”
The latest unemployment figures will increase pressure on Ramaphosa’s “new dawn” philosophy that he has been preaching since he took office in February 2018.
In April, when the strict shutdown of SA was underway, Ramaphosa unveiled a stimulus plan of R500 billion in an offer to cushion the economy from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to provide temporary relief measures. for the unemployed.
“The implementation of the presidential employment stimulus will soon begin to rapidly expand public and social employment and support the protection of employment in vulnerable sectors,” he said.
Structural reforms, investment in infrastructure and other measures to grow the economy would be critical to supporting the recovery of the labor market in the medium term, he said.
According to Stats SA, the country’s official unemployment during the second quarter paradoxically fell substantially, decreasing by 2.8 million to 4.3 million, which it attributed to a large number of people who did not actively seek work due to the closure. The official employment rate is now 23.3%, compared to 30.1% in the first quarter. “It goes without saying that the drop in unemployment is not a true reflection of current labor market conditions, but rather a technical problem in the definition of official unemployment,” said Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, senior economist at FNB.
The expanded unemployment rate, which includes discouraged job seekers, on the other hand, rose to 42%.
