Growing unemployment rate in Africa’s two largest economies is increasingly becoming problematic, with experts projecting the figures to grow even further amid concern that extensive government support programs won’t be able to keep many businesses hit by coronavirus restrictions afloat forever.
According to a new report released by Bloomberg, South Africa has the highest unemployment rate on a global list of 82 countries as the jobless rate increased to 34.4 per cent in Q2 2021 from 32.6 per cent in Q1 2021.
Read also:Nigeria’s OPay Hauls Largest Investment Round by African Startup
Namibia ranks second behind South Africa with the unemployment rate at 33.4 per cent, while Nigeria ranks third-highest with the unemployment rate at 33.3 per cent.
According to the Bloomberg report, unemployment, which includes people who were available for work but not looking for a job, rose to 44.4 percent from 43.2 per cent in the first quarter? Furthermore, the median of three economists’ estimates in the report was 33.2 per cent.
Read also:Revolutionalising Legal Practice With Technology
Other highlights from the report showed that unemployment data in South Africa is likely to deteriorate in Q3 2021 because the government tightened COVID-19 curbs in the face of the third wave of infections, hindering efforts to revive an economy that shrank 7 per cent last year, the report said. Furthermore, political unrest in the country has hugely contributed to dampening growth, as a result of which unemployment has risen.
The report also noted that the rising joblessness rate could heap pressure on authorities to extend relief measures that would complicate efforts to stabilise public finances.
For Nigeria, the report stated that the country ranked third on the global unemployment chart, although it is yet to release its unemployment data for the year. Economists, however, predict it could rise even higher in the coming months as resurgence in infections in many countries has led to new restrictions on businesses and could lead to more layoffs.
Read also:Africa-focused Fintech, Opay, Secures $400m From Softbank, At $2bn Valuation
Outside the top three African countries on the list, Jordan occupied the fourth position at 25.0 per cent, while Costa Rica ranked fifth with an unemployment rate of 18.1 per cent.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry