For the first time in a recorded 12-month period, 500 000 jobs were created in South Africa, Statistician General Pali Lehohla said in Pretoria on Thursday.

He was speaking at the release of the 11th quarterly Labour Force Survey.

"The survey found that for the first time, between March 2004 and March 2005, 500 000 new jobs were created, Lehohla said.

He said the figure surpassed the 400 000 new entrants into the labour market in the preceding year.

The survey also found the unemployment rate had remained virtually unchanged, comparing the figure of 26.5 percent unemployed in March 2005 to 26.2 percent in September 2004.

The survey selected information from 69 000 adults from more than 32 000 households.

Of the 16.2 million economically active people (those aged between 15 and 65 not seeking work or available for work, such as students and housewives) 11.9 million were employed in March 2005.

It was found that there were 13 million adults of working age who were economically inactive, of whom 37 percent were students and eight percent were homemakers.

The survey found the highest unemployment rate to be among the 15-24 year age group and that unemployment was higher for women than men.

Sapa

SA economy South Africa is the economic powerhouse of Africa, with a gross domestic product four times that of its southern African neighbours and comprising 25% of the entire continent's GDP.

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