Jobless rate rises as South Africans quit search

South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 32.9% in the first quarter of this year, with new data showing that more people are giving up on finding work.

The country already has one of the highest jobless rates in the world, and officials are now concerned that the labour market is being further strained by growing hopelessness among job seekers.

Desiree Manamela, chief director of labour statistics at Statistics South Africa, said the trend of discouraged work-seekers is troubling.

"That increase in discouraged work-seekers, it's a worry because we would want to see people being active in the labour market by either looking for employment or participating," she said during a press briefing.

According to the latest figures, the unemployment rate has climbed from 31.9% in the final quarter of last year.

Black women and young people were hit hardest again, with unemployment rates at 39.8% and 46.1% respectively.

The statistics agency reported that five of the ten industries it monitors added jobs, while the other five cut workers.

The largest job losses came from the trade and construction sectors, while the transport and finance sectors added the most jobs.

Unemployment has been rising steadily since 2016 and has remained above 30% for the past five years.

Fixing the jobs crisis is one of the top goals for the coalition government formed last year after the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994.