While south africa s dismal unemployment rate across the board has remained a cause for great concern, the statistics revealed in pocket world put the countrys youth unemployment. South africa risks witnessing mass uprisings if it doesnt act urgently to deal with rampant youth unemployment, the leader of the countrys trade union movement has warned. For the purpose of this indicator, the term youth covers persons aged 15 to 24 years and adult refers to persons aged 25 years and over. Pdf youth unemployment and education in south africa. Youth unemployment among graduates playing the numb. Youth unemployment rates in africa 46 list of annex annex i. According to statistics south africa statssa 2015 the already high rate saw an increase of 0. Most important import partners of south africa 2017. South africa scores high in the youth unemployment rate. There is broad consensus that youth unemployment in south africa is critical, with latest figures confirming that one half of young people 1534 years are unemployed by the broad definition1 statistics south africa 2018. The study undertakes an empirical assessment of the main sources of youth unemployment in africa.
Umaru and zubariu 2012, yu 20, umaru 2014, cloete 2015. This study explores the perceived causes of graduate unemployment fromthe perspective of the south. The challenging problem of labour and youth education. At the end of 2015, only greece and spain among oecd. South africa is experiencing growth in its graduate labour force, but graduateunemployment is rising with the overall unemployment rate. Education and youth unemployment in south africa by david lam, university of michigan, murray leibbrandt, university of cape town and cecil mlatsheni, university of cape town 1. The report released by statistics south africa examines in detail various aspects of the situation faced by. Brief overviews can be found in spaull 2015 and branson et al 2015.
Youth employment in developing countries october20r 3 summary youth employment and development a youth focus within the employment and development debate, including the post 2015 agenda, is warranted for a number of key reasons. Graduate unemployment is problematic, because it wastes scarce human capital, which is detrimental to the economy in the long run. Pdf education and youth unemployment in south africa. Unemployment is a sociopolitical challenge worldwide. It is also a major challenge in south africa, with its national unemployment rate of 26.
If youth unemployment rates remain unchanged in africa, nearly 50% of youth excluding students will be unemployed, discouraged, or economically inactive by 2025. Contextual factors and the experience of unemployment. The unemployment rate for south africans between the ages of 15 and 24 was 52. Challenges, concepts and opportunities article pdf available in journal of international relations and development 141 january 2011 with 7,529 reads. The free state had the highest provincial unemployment rate at 36.
South africa s unemployment rate has continued to increase, according to statistics south africa s recentlyreleased quarterly labour survey. South africa has a serious unemployment problem, particularly among young people. Youth unemployment in south africa childrens institute. The ilo further predict that youth unemployment in south asia will rise a small amount, from 9. Unemployment is most acute amongst the poor, youth and women. Youth unemployment rate in south africa averaged 52. Statistics south africa released a report on youth unemployment in mid 2015. Between 2002 and 2007, south africa s gdp growth steadily increased and unemployment rates dropped.
Graduate unemployment isproblematic, because it wastes scarce human capital, which is detrimental to the economy inthe long run. The rate of youth unemployment in south korea fluctuated in the 911% range between 2001 and 2014. Introduction the problem of high youth unemployment is a global phenomenon. Q1 2015 q4 2007 south africa has one of the highest youth unemployment rates among oecd and g20 countries note. In order to qualify as unemployed for official and statistical measurement, the individual must be without.
South africa could become new egypt, warns trade union. The country ranks even more poorly in terms of youth unemployment 6th, globally, with a rate of 52. Instead of q4 2007 the figure shows 2005 for china, 200708 for india, q3 2007 for indonesia and saudi arabia, and q1 2008 for argentina and south africa. The longterm effects of youth unemployment on later labor market outcomes are critical factors in the evaluation of government policies that affect the youth labor market. In 2015, unemployment in south africa is expected to recover by 0. The unemployment rate among youth increased from 32,7% to 36,1% between 2008 and 2014. Labour market dynamics in south africa, 2015 statistics south africa. Pdf youth unemployment in south africa revisited researchgate. Total % of working age population q1 2015 q42019 south africa red, oecd total black total % of working age population q42019 south africa red, oecd total black longterm unemployment rate indicator. Early work experience affects work and wellbeing throughout a person. An unemployed person is defined as someone who does not have a job but is actively seeking work. Adverse impacts may take the form of lower levels of human capital, reduced wage rates and weakened labor force participation in the future.
Youth unemployment in south africa lam, leibrandt and mlatsheni point out that south africa is an important case study for youth unemployment, although research on youth unemployment in south africa is new. The response the vision of the jobs for youth in africa strategy 20162025 is to create 25 million jobs and reach over 50 million. Pdf one of the most pressing socioeconomic problems of the south african. The youth aged 1524 years are the most vulnerable in the south african labour market as the unemployment rate among this age group was 55,2% in the 1st quarter of 2019. The social and economic impact of youth unemployment hr. Unemployed youth in south africa are generally lowskilled and have little experience of employment, with two thirds of young people having never worked national treasury, 2011. Isbn 9789221267317 web pdf ilo cataloguing in publication data. According to an international labour office study in 2004, youth 1524 make up nearly half 47% of the worlds unemployed, 88.
Youth unemployment is a particularly serious issue in south africa. Among graduates, the national unemployment rate is 1. Africa has the largest youth bulge in the world, and the number of youth is expected to grow by 42. View youth unemployment research papers on academia. The province with the lowest unemployment rate was limpopo, at 18. There is a risk of loss of talent and skills, since a great amount of university graduates are unable to find a job and put their knowledge and capabilities into producing innovation and contributing to economic growth.
Based on panel data of 41 african countries covering the period 20002010, the study finds a demographic youth bulge and poor economic growth from both supply and demand sides of the market to be key drivers of youth unemployment in africa. Unemployment has to be addressed to ensure economic growth in the country national planning commission 2011. This page provides south africa youth unemployment rate actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics. Reducing youth unemployment in south africa youth economic. In october 2015, the frustration and anger of students at south africas. There is broad consensus that youth unemployment in south africa is. The situation is increasingly viewed as a national emergency, as the high level of youth unemployment is expected to lead to. However, the lower range of this prediction would be a drop in the rate to 9. The other is that the key attribute young people have to sell in the labour market is education and what is happening to that.
Youth unemployment introduction youth unemployment is widely viewed as an important policy issue for many countries, regardless of their stage of development. Despite being africa s most educated generation to emerge from schools and universities, a youth in africa is twice as likely to be unemployed when heshe becomes an adult, ilo said. Prevalence, characteristics and perceived causes submitted in partial fulfillment for a master of arts, in research psychology by research and coursework degree, at the university of the witwatersrands school of human and community development. South africa is experiencing growth in its graduate labour force, but graduate unemployment is rising with the overall unemployment rate. Youth unemployment, resource distribution and social cohesion in africa compared to other parts of the world, africa remains a relatively young continent where the median age is about 19 years and is only expected to reach about 25 years in 2046. J y a c a building today, a better africa tomorrow. Im from south africa and we just had our sona state of the nation address and 7 key points has been named as important. South africa continues to struggle with a structurally high unemployment rate of around 25. Land is the major issue but when the government talks about building a new city this does not solve the major problem for the unemployed because these jobs will only be created for the unemployed in the area they want to build. South africas youth unemployment is the worst globally. Its been described as a ticking time bomb millions of young south africans sitting at home unemployed.
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