Statistics South Africa’s quarterly employment figures show a sharp rise in employyment in Nelson Mandela Bay, with a 2.2% increase, or around 4 000 new jobs created.

StatsSA’s Quarterly labour Force Survey shows the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro’s unemployment dropped from 31.8% to 29.6%, even as the eastern Cape as a whole saw unemployment going up.

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Overall, Nelson Mandela Bay saw 22 000 new people enter its labour force, with 26 000 people finding employment; this equates to a drop in uneemployment from 159 000 to 155 000.

Kevin Hustler of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber spoke to the Herald, saying he’s pleased with the news, but that more needs to be done on a national scale as a total of around nine million people are currently jobless.

“We are particularly pleased with Nelson Mandela Bay showing a 2.2% decline in unemployment over the last quarter of 2016.”

“But we need a much more stable political and economic environment which is conducive to promoting an enabling business environment to grow more jobs in the country,” Hustler said.