What unemployment looks like in South Africa

South Africa’s unemployment rate is getting worse. The latest stats from Stats SA, as well as the opinions of leading economic and labour experts, paint a very dire picture:

• The unemployment rate increased by 1,4 percentage points from 27,6% in the first quarter of 2019 to 29,0% in the second quarter of 2019
• The number of people unemployed grew by 455 000
• The number of people employed grew by just 21 000
• Government’s failed Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) was supposed to create 350 000 manufacturing jobs
• 320 000 manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2008
• Gang violence on the Cape Flats is a direct result of the loss of jobs in the textile industry in the areas
• 6,7-million people are currently unemployed in South Africa – the size of the entire country of Bulgaria