He was speaking following the Statistics SA announcement yesterday that South Africa's unemployment rate has increased to 27.6% in the first quarter of 2019 - the highest in over a decade.

He says they have noted with shock and disbelief the content of the first Quarter 2019 Quarterly Labour Force Survey by Stats SA.

He adds they are faced with a reality that job creation seems to be moving further and further away from their grasp, which means their quest to improve the socio-economic status of the citizens of the country remains a far cry.

Stats SA says in a statement that between the fourth quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, the percentage of young persons aged 15–24 years who were not employed increased by 2,1 percentage points to 33,2% (3,4 million).

The statement further says of the 20,3 million young people aged 15-34 years, 40,7% were not in employment.

Mahlatsi says as a federation they are seriously disturbed by the abovementioned picture which confirms the long-held view that poverty and unemployment are deepening in the country and subsequently in the province.

He says they are particularly concerned with the growing number of unemployed youth.

He concluded by saying they, however, would remain resolute in the fight against the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality in the province, as a result, they would be working on how to turn around the economy of the Free State.

OFM News/Michael Tlhakudi