South Africa's unemployment up 25% 

(MENAFN) Statistics South Africa said that in the first quarter, unemployment rate in the country went up twenty five percent compared with twenty four percent in the fourth quarter since the continent's biggest economy couldn't create job opportunities for new job seekers, reported Bloomberg.

The agency added that the number of workers went down by 14,000 reaching 13.1 million, where jobs were mainly reduced in the agriculture and retail sectors cause employers decreased their workforce at the end of harvest season and the holiday period last year.

It also said that employment in non-farming industries in the first quarter decreased by 46,000, whereas jobs in agriculture fell by 24,000. The formal sector added 56,000 jobs, with manufacturing employment increasing by 20,000 and financial services jobs rising by 37,000, adding that although economic growth in the fourth quarter rose reaching 4.4 percent, that wasn't enough to create jobs for those who seek employment for the first time.

It is worth noting that the Reserve Bank may have to delay increasing interest rates until later in this year due to slow recovery in the jobs market. The central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate at 5.5 percent this year, citing rising fuel and food costs as the biggest risks to inflation.