South Africa’s Jobless Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since 2020

South Africa’s unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level in more than five years in the fourth quarter, as the community and social services and construction sectors added workers.

The jobless rate declined to 31.4% in the three months through December, from 31.9% in the prior quarter, according to data released by Statistics South Africa in Pretoria on Tuesday. That was the lowest reading since the third quarter of 2020. The median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey was 31.7%.