This compares favorably with the 32.9 percent recorded during the previous quarter, a Stas SA statement said.

That means 169,000 jobs were created between the third quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter, bringing the number of people employed to 15.9 million.

Unemployment reached a record high of 35.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, amid the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to an expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those discouraged from looking for work, 42 percent of the labor force was out of work in the fourth quarter, while in the previous four months that number stood at 43.1, the source adds.

In a statement, Stats SA explained that the number of unemployed increased by 28,000 to 7.8 million, while the number of people who were not economically active for reasons different from discouragement, increased by 95,000 to 13.4 million.

On the other hand, discouraged job seekers fell by 151 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter, resulting in a net decrease of 57 thousand in the economically inactive population.

The above changes in employment and unemployment resulted in the official unemployment rate decreasing by 0.2 percentage points.

The sectors with favorable results in job growth were Finance, Private households, Commerce, and Transportation.

Those with negative indicators were Social and Community Services, Agriculture, and Construction.

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