It has been just over a year since South Africa reported its first case of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the economy. South Africa saw a 7.0% Gross Domestic Product contraction in 2020 as a result of the hard lockdown in the second quarter of the year.
According to Statistics South Africa, this was the biggest annual fall since 1946. The economic restrictions, which were put in place to curb the spread of the virus, also led to job losses. The country’s formal non-agricultural sector shed 648 000 jobs in the second quarter of the year.
In the fourth quarter, the number of unemployed people increased to 7.2 million.
A look at unemployment a year on since coronavirus hit SA shores:
