16 August 2024

Youth Unemployment: A National Mandate

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) results released for the second quarter of 2024 underscore the urgent and escalating issue of youth unemployment in South Africa. The figures for youth aged 15-24 and 25-34 remain vulnerable, highlighting the pressing need for immediate and decisive intervention by the Government and stakeholders in working together to reduce high-level unemployment in the country.

The labour market recorded a decrease of 92,000 in employed persons to 16,7 million in Q2 2024. At the same time, there was an increase of 158,000 unemployed to 8,4 million compared to Q1:2024. This resulted in an increase of 66,000 in the labour force in the same period. Discouraged work-seekers increased by 147 000 (up by 4,8%), while the number of persons who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 75 000. This led to 72,000 economically active persons and 16,3 million in the second quarter of 2024.

The above changes in employment and unemployment resulted in the official unemployment rate increasing by 0,6 of a percentage point from 32,9% in the first quarter of 2024 to 33,5% in the second quarter of 2024. Compared to Q1 of 2024, the expanded unemployment rate in Q2 of 2024 increased by 0,7 of a percentage point to 42,6%, with employment decreases mainly in the Trade, Agriculture, and Private household industries. While we appreciate that other sectors like Manufacturing, Community and Social Service, Transport and Mining have managed to increase employment, more must be done to tackle the high unemployment rate.

On a positive note, the unemployment rate among graduates decreased by 2.1 percentage points to 9.7% in Q2:2024, compared to 11.8% in Q1:2024. Conversely, those with matric and those less than matric face high unemployment rates of 35.8% and 39.3%, respectively. The alarming figures for youth aged 15-24 years and 25-34 years, with the highest unemployment rates at 60.8% and 41.7%, respectively, suggest that it is becoming increasingly difficult for youth with matric or less to be employed.

It is crucial to focus on the absorption of individuals with matric education or less into skills development and employability programs to address unemployment and prepare workers for future jobs. This is particularly important in light of the ILO Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 report,[1] which coincided with the Quarterly Labour Force Survey. The report revealed a positive trend in global youth unemployment, which was at a 15-year low of 13% in 2023. The total number of unemployed young people worldwide was the lowest seen since the start of the millennium, at 64.9 million. This positive international trend offers hope and optimism for the future of youth employment, showing that progress is possible.

At the same time, 2023 saw a rebound in the youth employment-to-population ratio (at 35 per cent), as many of the young persons who had temporarily withdrawn from the labour force or had become unemployed during the pandemic returned to work. This resilience of the youth population is inspiring and signals the potential for significant progress in addressing youth unemployment.

As in the early 2000s, nearly three in four working young adults in sub-Saharan Africa were in insecure forms of work; one in three paid workers earned less than the median wage; and more than one in two working youth earned a living in the agricultural sector in 2023. Demographic pressures consume the continent: between 2023 and 2050, the cumulative growth in the youth labour force is estimated at 72.6 million (with an additional 3.3 million young labour market entrants in North Africa). The global concern is how African countries will create decent jobs for many young labour market entrants in the coming two decades.

The following policy areas were identified to guide action on youth employment in the 2012 International Labour Conference Resolution “The Youth Employment Crisis: A Call for Action”. This resolution, a culmination of global efforts to address youth unemployment, has remained relevant and robust during the ensuing years. The following five areas of policy will influence youth employment initiatives:

  1. Employment and economic policies to boost job creation and improve access to finance;
  2. Education and training to ease the school-to-work transition and prevent skills mismatches;
  3. Labour market policies to target employment of disadvantaged youth;
  4. Entrepreneurship and self-employment promotion/policies to assist potential young entrepreneurs;
  5. Labour rights that are based on international labour standards to ensure that young people receive equal treatment and are afforded rights at work and;
  6. Increased recognition of lifelong learning.

By implementing comprehensive skills development plans and providing accessible pathways to employment, we have the potential to significantly enhance work chances for those with matriculation or less schooling. This can equip them for the changing labour market of the future, fostering individual achievement and broader economic expansion.

 

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