Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has reaffirmed the government's commitment to fostering an inclusive economy that generates jobs.
Speaking during a Cabinet briefing on Thursday, Ntshavheni emphasised the administration's focus on building a production economy, citing recent growth in the manufacturing sector as a positive sign.
Ntshavheni said this renewed commitment comes in response to the rise in the official unemployment rate, which increased to 33.5% in the second quarter of 2024, up from 32.9% in the first quarter.
During the same period, employment fell by 92,000 to 16.7 million, and the number of unemployed individuals rose by 158,000 to 8.4 million.
Ntshavheni also noted that an analysis of employment by industry showed declines in five of the ten sectors. Notable decreases occurred in Trade (110,000), Agriculture (45,000), and Private Households (18,000).
Conversely, the largest employment increases were observed in manufacturing sector (49,000) and community and social Services (36,000).
“The steady growth in the manufacturing [sector] is a confidence booster on work to build a production economy. Government remains focused on its apex priority of building an inclusive economy that creates jobs,” Ntshavheni said.
In addition to employment concerns, Ntshavheni said the Cabinet acknowledged the recent dip in annual consumer price inflation (CPI), which fell to 4.6% in July from 5.1% in June 2024. Moreover Ntshavheni said a month-on-month, CPI increased by 0.4% in July.
The main contributors to the 4.6% annual inflation rate were housing and duties (5.3% increase, contributing 1.3 percentage points), miscellaneous goods and services (7.0% increase, contributing 1.0 percentage point), food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.5% increase, contributing 0.8 percentage points), and Transport (4.2% increase, contributing 0.6 percentage points).
The CPI for goods in July was 4.6%, down from 5.5% in June, while Services inflation rose to 4.7% from 4.6% in the previous month.
In addition, Ntshavheni said the Cabinet also noted the proposed modernisation strategy for the National School Nutrition Programme.
Ntshavheni assured that the Cabinet supports the ongoing efforts to ensure proper due diligence in the proposed approach to protect the interests of the 9.7 million learners who benefit from the scheme daily.
IOL