BY NTSAKISI MASWANGANYI –
THE number of claimants for unemployment insurance benefits fell in the first half of this year compared with a year earlier — suggesting the economy is not shedding as many jobs as previously thought, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) head Boas Seruwe has said.
Mr Seruwe said the decline in the number of claimants was also due to tighter monitoring and processing of applications to clamp down on fraud.
Despite the improvement, the number of claims remains high, reflecting the weak growth of the local economy. The economy grew 1.3% in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year due to slow domestic and global demand, and production stoppages because of strikes.
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