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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - A nationwide strike by South Africa's unions to protest job losses and poverty affected the key mining sector Monday, but employers said the response was less than expected in other industries.
The one-day work stoppage and accompanying marches by tens of thousands of protesters come at a time of 26 percent unemployment despite steady economic growth, according to official figures. Unions argue that the rate could be as high as 40 percent, if those who have given up looking for work are also counted.
Supermarket employee Tshwarelo Majoe, who was among 30,000-40,000 people marching through Johannesburg, said he wanted to draw the government's attention to the scale of the problem.
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