South Africa’s unemployment rate is amongst the highest in the world.

Figures released by Stats SA showed that joblessness stood at 32.9% in the first quarter of this year.

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey also showed an increase in time-related underemployment.

Statistics South Africa defines this category as people who worked less than 35 hours in the reference week and are available to work additional hours.

Influencing factors include the impact of load shedding on productivity.

Black Africans remain the most vulnerable in South Africa’s labour market, as they want to work longer hours, but they have the highest time-related underemployment rate of 5,9%.