South Africa’s unemployment rate decreased for the first time this year, dropping to 32.1 percent in the third quarter from 33.5 percent the previous quarter, the country’s official statistics agency said Tuesday.

Africa’s largest and most industrialised economy has for years suffered from high unemployment, with women and youth persistently more impacted.

The number of employed people increased by 294,000 during the quarter, Statistics South Africa said in its Quarterly Labour Force Survey, while there was a decrease of 373,000 in the number of unemployed.

Jobs were added in the community and social services sector as well in construction, trade, mining and transport.

It was the first decrease in joblessness since the third quarter of 2023, when the country’s unemployment rate was at 31.9 percent.

Youth unemployment remains particularly high, though it decreased from 46.6 percent in the second quarter of 2024 to 45.5 percent in the third.

South Africa’s economy faces structural challenges and weak growth according to the World Bank.

This reduces the government’s ability to tackle inequality, among the highest in the world, and poverty, which affects more than 60 percent of the population.