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S. Africa's unemployment reaches 13-year high

Xinhua, November 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Africa's unemployment rate in the third quarter of 2016 increased by 1.6 percentage points to 27.1 percent, data released on Tuesday showed.

This is 0.5 percentage point higher than the second quarter of 2016, when it was 26.6 percent, Statistics South Africa said in its latest labor force survey.

The 27.1-percent unemployment rate means that 5.9 million South Africans are currently without work, the highest number since 2003.

"The current unemployment rate is 13.1 percent above the target rate suggested in the National Development Plan," said Statistician General Pali Lehohla.

Working-age population grew by 159,000, or 0.4 percent, in the third quarter this year, while the number of the employed increased only by 288,000. Enditem