Mpumalanga aims for higher economic growth – MEC Phosa
25 November 2011
MEC for Finance, Mrs Pinky Phosa has cautiously welcomed the latest employment figures that show net gains in jobs in the province.
According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) of Statistics South Africa, Mpumalanga gained 7 000 jobs in the second quarter and 27 000 jobs in the third quarter of 2011,
The provincial economic growth prospects for this year appear to be in line with the national growth expectations.
Mpumalanga’s economic growth rate is expected to average 3 per cent next year and rising to 3.6 per cent in 2013. .
Phosa said Mpumalanga need to increase its economic growth rate to at least 5 per cent per annum, in order to create enough jobs and to significantly reduce the high unemployment significantly.
The province recorded the third highest job gains (after Limpopo and the Free State) in the third quarter. The mining, construction and trade sectors were the main contributors to this positive growth in employment during this period.
The provincial unemployment rate dropped with 1.3 percentage points to 29.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, but it is unfortunately still the highest of the 9 provinces.
Phosa said there are expectations that the national and provincial inflation rates will resume the upward trend in the coming months, to peak at more than 6 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, before declining again.
For more information, contact:
Letshela Jonas on 013 766 4243 / 079 5000 154
Issued by Communications, Department of Finance, Mpumalanga Provincial Government