Labour

Overview

Official unemployment (those actually looking for work) dipped slightly between March 2006 and March 2007 from 25.6% to 25.5%. Not much to celebrate but at least in the right direction. Three years ago it was 28.5%. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created during the long run of economic expansion but the number of people in the work force has increased at almost the same rate. For example, the number of people employed increased from 12.5 million in 2006 to 12.7 million in 2007 but the work force during the same period grew from 16.7 million to 16.98 million.

Serious power shortages became a reality late in 2007 and caused the shutdown of mining operations and manufacturing lines in early 2008. With the best remedial plans, the long overdue expansion of the electrical power grid will take several years to accomplish. While more jobs may be created in the process, economists predict that economic growth will suffer, perhaps substantially, which translates into slower growth in job creation. The economy must achieve a sustained 6% growth rate by 2010 to reduce unemployment to 15% by 2014.