One possibility would be to extend the claim period, another would be to provide a “workseeker’s allowance” once benefits have expired. Given that the maximum claim period is 238 days and many claimants will receive benefits for a shorter time, this implies that significantly less than 442 000 people were in receipt of unemployment benefits at any given time.) This figure is in stark contrast to the number of unemployed, which currently stands at 4 125 000 according to the strict (narrow, official) definition or 5 642 000 according to the expanded (broad) definition (Stats SA, 2009).