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S.Africa unemployment eases to 25%

South Africa’s economy added 193,000 jobs in the third quarter, bringing the unemployment rate down to 25 percent, the government said Tuesday.

Over the past year, 343,000 jobs have been created, Statistics South Africa said, bringing the number of employed to 13.3 million in the three months ending in September — the highest number since the second quarter of 2009.

The unemployment rate had jumped to 25.7 percent in the second quarter this year, but was brought down with jobs growth in mining, farming and construction, the report said.

But the number of jobs remained lower than the 13.8 million posted in the fourth quarter of 2008, posing a challenge for President Jacob Zuma’s government, which has made job creation a priority.

The country has struggled to add jobs despite rebounding in 2009 from its first recession since the end of apartheid in 1994.