SA youth unemployment rate on the increase

Just because you are young and unemployed does not mean you are worthless.

As new unemployment statistics surface in June –which is Youth Month – numerous youth residents may be worried about their fate. While the youth of 1976 fought for freedom and democracy, today’s youth is trying to tackle the challenges of combating poverty and unemployment.

According to data recently released by Statistics SA in the first quarter of 2014, South Africa’s jobless rate rose to 25.2 percent from 24.1 percent in the previous three months. There were 5.067 million people without work, up from 4.83 million in the preceding quarter, mainly due to job losses in agriculture, trade and transport.

The figures also show the youth unemployment rate is 20 percent higher than the unemployment figures for adults over 34.

The figures continue to show that young women in South Africa are less likely than young men to get a job and both are less likely than their parents to find work – despite being better educated.

Across the country, 39.5 percent of young women are unemployed compared to 33.4 percent of men, the report shows.

While 50 percent of youth now have a matric, in the 55-to-64-age cohort only 20 percent acquired matric. Also, more now have tertiary qualifications. In 1994, 1.9 percent of youth had tertiary qualifications while this year the proportion was 7.7 percent.

A report released by Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) also showed that the unemployment rate among youth increased from 32.7 percent to 36.1 percent between 2008 and 2014.

Young people accounted for 52 to 64 percent of the working age population but are under-represented in employment, accounting for only 42 to 49 percent of the employed according to GCIS.

What do you think should be done to create more jobs for SA’s youth?