South Africa's official unemployment rate rose for the third quarter in a row, reaching 33.5% in April-June of this year, data from the statistics agency showed on Tuesday.

Unemployment is now at its highest since the government repealed COVID-19 rules in the second quarter of 2022, though it remains below the record high of 35.3% struck in the final three months of 2021 (ZAUNR=ECI).

"The number of jobs that are being created are not able to deal with the issue of unemployment," Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke told a media briefing.

Lowering the country's unemployment rate - one of the highest in the world - is a priority for the coalition government that emerged after the African National Congress lost its majority in an election in May.

Laying out the government's priorities for the next five years, President Cyril Ramaphosa said last month that officials thought small businesses and the informal sector held the greatest potential for job creation.

Economist Sanisha Packirisamy at local investment firm Momentum Investments said that since the COVID pandemic there had been a recovery in employment in areas viewed as more highly skilled, largely in the services sector.

Whereas for workers classified as unskilled or semi-skilled there had barely been a recovery, she said.

Packirisamy said significant job creation in South Africa would take time, and "as such we are not expecting significant job growth in the remainder of this year".

Under an expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those discouraged from seeking work, 42.6% were jobless in the second quarter compared with 41.9% in the previous three months.

Statistics South Africa said the number of unemployed people rose to 8.384 million in April-June from 8.226 million in January-March.

Five of the 10 industries tracked by the agency saw employment decreases in the second quarter, with the highest number of jobs lost in trade and agriculture.

Solly Molayi, acting head of population statistics, said the hotel and restaurant sector lost 87,000 jobs in the second quarter and was the biggest contributor to joblessness in trade.