ANC STATEMENT ON THE Q3 QUARTERLY LABOUR SURVEY
The African National Congress welcomes the drop in the Unemployment Rate from 25.6% in the 2nd quarter of this year to 24.7% in this quarter as contained in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa today. Practically, according to the findings released, this means that more than one hundred thousand people and their households are better off now than they were a few months ago due to the jobs created during the period.
Whilst we commend the drop in the number of people who are unemployed and South Africa's unemployment rate returns to pre-recession levels, much more still needs to be done to take greater numbers of our people out of the debilitating effects of poverty. The National Development Plan, which charts our common vision towards 2030, commits us to creating an economy that will create more jobs and ensure greater equity in the sharing of its growth.
Essentially, the economy must become more inclusive and grow faster thus eliminating poverty and reducing inequality quicker. The African National Congress trusts that buoyed by this positive development, government will move with greater speed to realise the fundamental aspirations of the NDP being:
- Realising an environment for sustainable employment and inclusive economic growth
- Promoting employment in labour-absorbing industries
- Raising exports and competitiveness
- Strengthening government's capacity to give leadership to economic development
The African National Congress calls upon South Africans in general, government, labour and the private sector in particular to build on these gains and work together towards the attainment of our national vision as encapsulated in the National Development Plan.
Statement issued by Jackson Mthembu, ANC national spokesperson, October 29 2013
Source: StatsSA
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