South Africa’s sluggish economic growth will continue shrinking and shed more jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019, Jannie Rossouw, professor at Wits Business School told Xinhua on Friday in Johannesburg.
He made the comments after Statistics SA revealed the latest employment data for the third quarter of this year on Thursday with 28,000 jobs lost in the country.
“An economy that is declining will shed jobs, it does not create them. It’s no surprise that we lost jobs in the third quarter,” he said.
He said, with the ongoing power utility Eskom’s blackouts, the situation will worsen further.
“Our unemployment will continue increasing because while the population is growing, the economy is contracting and shedding jobs,” he told Xinhua.
The employment data showed that construction, manufacturing and community services contributed to the unemployment in the third quarter.
The county’s largest labor federation Cosatu Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the latest figures were “alarming.”
“The latest round of electricity cuts will only worsen the situation going forward. This means that millions of families will be plunged deeper into poverty,” he said.
“This means that many South Africans do not have the purchasing power to drive the economy and create much-needed domestic demand,” Pamla said.
He added that investments were required in township and rural areas to assist small businesses.
“This dire economic situation calls for strong leadership. We need an alternative economic development strategy to get out of this economic quagmire,” Cosatu spokesperson said. Enditem
