Jobs blood-bath: 9 million people now unemployed in South Africa

22 November 2016

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey released for Quarter 3 2016 has revealed a staggering increase in the number of unemployed South Africans, rising from 8.9 million to 9.016 million, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 136 000 people.

Since the third quarter last year, a shocking 712 000 South Africans joined the ranks of the unemployed.

This is a jobs blood-bath. These are not just numbers and percentages, but ordinary people who will now no longer have an income to support themselves and their families.

Our country faces an unprecedented crisis which demands every person’s concern. We cannot accept the status-quo of Jacob Zuma and his ANC’s corruption, skewed priorities, and policy uncertainty, which continues to hamper economic growth and job creation.

The most recent proposals to introduce a national minimum wage, which may add to this jobs crisis, is yet another clear example of how policy decisions are taken without considering the impact on jobless South Africans, stuck in poverty and away from opportunities.

Enough is enough. These results should unite South Africans in an effort to vote the ANC out at every sphere of government so that we can finally turn back the tide of unemployment, and create the millions of opportunities our country needs.

The DA will be the voice of unemployed South Africans, and continue to work tirelessly both in opposition and where we govern to tackle this national crisis with the urgency it deserves.

Issued by Ian Ollis, DA Shadow Minister of Labour, 22 November 2016