South Africa’s Unemployment Rate Now The Highest In The World

The unemployment rate in South Africa is now the highest in the world, hitting 74.8 percent among the youth and 44.4 percent overall.

Among 82 countries that were surveyed by Bloomberg, South Africa emerged top with the majority of citizens being jobless and living in poverty.

Ironically, South Africa is among Africa’s economic giants, at one time beating Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa but “things on the ground and different.”

The jobless rate rose to 34.4 percent in the second quarter from 32.6 percent in the three months through March, Statistics South Africa said.

The median of three economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey was 33.2 percent.

Unemployment according to the expanded definition, which includes people who were available for work but not looking for a job, rose to 44.4 percent from 43.2 percent in the first quarter.

The rise in the unemployment rate is the reason South Africa has experienced violent xenophobic attacks where locals feel foreigners are taking up their jobs and wealth.

The current regime in South Africa has been accused of sidelining the youth in job opportunities and helping white-owned businesses flourish on account of local ones.

Bloomberg predicts more protests and xenophobic attacks in the future if the issue of unemployment among the youth I. South Africa will not be fixed “as soon as possible.”

Kenya

In Kenya, there are no clear figures about the unemployment rate. The figures are often given by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) but Kenyans feel they aren’t the correct figures.

At one point, an official from the National Employment Authority (NEA) quoted the unemployment figure at 43.5 percent but the figures were quickly dismissed and never saw the light of the day.

The majority of the unemployed in Kenya are the youth. According to the latest Census report, the youth in Kenya are at 74 percent.