This is according to the MEC for Finance Gadija Brown. Delivering the province’s 2021/22 budget, Brown highlighted that unemployment rates, particularly among young people in the province, are a cause for concern.

She said one way to address the scourge is to invest in infrastructure as well as to ensure that all projects reach completion. Tabling the province’s R38.6 billion for the 2021/22 financial year, Brown highlighted that there is a high need to stimulate the economy in the province and that infrastructure development is of high importance.

She further announced that over R13 billion will be spent on infrastructure development over the next three financial years in the Free State.

According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa, the country's unemployment rate increased by 7,5 percentage points to 30,8% in 2020 while the expanded unofficial employment rate is 43.1%.

The latest unemployment rates for the fourth quarter of 2020, shows that South Africa’s unemployment rate has hit its highest point since the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) was started.

Meanwhile, the Free State is currently facing an unemployment rate of over 34%.

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