By Anita Dangazele
- Over 83,000 people in the Eastern Cape lost their jobs in just three months, pushing unemployment to 39.3%.
- Families are struggling to survive as more people give up looking for work.
More than 83,000 people in the Eastern Cape have lost their jobs in just three months.
This pushed the province’s unemployment rate to 39.3%, one of the highest in the country.
Stats SA released the numbers this week. They show that things are getting worse, not better.
Across the country, more than 291,000 jobs were lost. KwaZulu-Natal was hit hardest with 104,000 job losses. The Eastern Cape came second.
Only North West has a higher jobless rate — 40.4%. Free State is just behind the Eastern Cape at 37.9%.
Opposition parties say the job losses show how badly the economy is doing and how ordinary people are suffering.
Democratic Alliance leader in the Eastern Cape Legislature, Vicky Knotze, said: “Every job lost is not just a statistic. It is a child going to bed hungry, a parent forced to choose between food and electricity, and a growing sense of hopelessness.”
In Zwide, a mother of three said she lost her supermarket job because she skipped work too often.
“I would sometimes skip work and go drinking with my friends. My manager was kind in December, but in January I was fired,” she said.
In KwaZakhele, a nanny said she lost her job when the family she worked for moved overseas.
“I’ve been looking for work since January. I get small jobs now and then, but nothing stable. Life has changed so much for my kids and me,” she said.
Stats SA also said the expanded unemployment rate in the Eastern Cape is now at 49%. This includes people who have stopped looking for work.
Young people are also struggling. Youth unemployment rose from 44.6% to 46.1% in just three months.
There are now 4.8 million young people across South Africa who don’t have jobs. That’s 151,000 more than before. The number of working youth dropped by 153,000 to 5.7 million.
In Buffalo City Metro, 37.3% of people are unemployed. In Nelson Mandela Bay, the rate is 22.3%.
Pictured above: A mother begging for work.
Image source: Facebook
