South Africa unemployment rate has risen for the first time in over a year, driven by more people seeking employment and power cuts discouraging investment and impeding economic growth. The jobless rate surged to 32.9% in Q1 2023 from 32.7% in the prior quarter. Power cuts have heightened business costs and curtailed trading hours, resulting in significant losses for many companies. The central bank estimates that power cuts will reduce GDP growth by 2 PP this year.