For the first time in seven quarters, the South African unemployment rate fell. It comes as just the faintest glimmer of hope even as the cost-of-living skyrockets, and we continue to grapple with the other ever-present ailments that plague the country. We don’t have to go into too much detail there, we all know what they are.
The unemployment rate dropped from 35.3% in the last three months of 2021 to 34.5% in the first three months of 2022.
But the Sunday Times Daily writes under normal circumstances, this would be cause for optimism, but the current downward movement in joblessness is based on global factors out of our direct control.
“StatsSA said on Tuesday that manufacturing (263,000) and mining (36,000) contributed significantly to the increase in jobs, stoked, it said, by Russia’s war with Ukraine, among other factors.
“In other words, the commodities boom is, in part, thanks to Vladimir Putin’s warmongering and, as a consequence, we derive some benefit we can’t exactly bank on for the future. Crudely put, this growth in employment should not give anyone hope because it is based on global developments we can’t control,” writes the publication.
Just as we’re led to believe we’re getting back on our feet and back on the road to building a nation of growth, there always has to be a caveat to knock us right back down.
Here’s a round-up of what we’re reading:
Davos 2022 missed an opportunity to reflect on globalisation – Daily Maverick
TONY LEON | If I were the ANC I’d be a little concerned about my ties to UMK – Sunday Times Daily (for subscribers)
JUSTICE MALALA: Boksburg chaos gives us a glimpse of how the ANC behaves after it has lost power – Financial Mail (for subscribers)
EDITORIAL: Glencore fine sends chilling message to SA’s cowboy capitalists – Financial Mail
EDITORIAL: Government needs to tread carefully in the minefield of energy prices – Business Day (for subscribers)
IN-DEPTH | ‘We should all be concerned’: Cyber experts react after Ramaphosa is hacked – News24 (for subscribers)
The #GuptaLeaks, five years later – Daily Maverick
The new BBBEE is just another setback that will worsen corruption, political killings, etc – The Citizen (for subscribers)
(Image: Pixabay)
