PRETORIA (Reuters) -South Africa’s official unemployment rate fell slightly in the third quarter of this year, to 31.9% from 33.2% in the second quarter, government data showed on Tuesday.
The number of unemployed people decreased to 8.007 million in July-September from 8.367 million in April-June, Statistics South Africa said.
Six of the 10 industries tracked by the statistics agency recorded employment increases, while four saw decreases in the latest three-month period.
Jobs were added in construction, community and social services and trade, while jobs were lost in manufacturing, finance and utilities.
The coalition government in power since last year’s election has struggled to make a meaningful dent in unemployment, despite making it a top priority.
(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi;Writing by Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Alexander Winning)
