Experts have indicated that the reason for the unemployment rate increasing rapidly is the ailing economy. If this is anything to go by, it means that the future is looking bleak, especially for the youth.
For this week’s #WisdomWednesday, the Herald spoke with Brenda Mahuma, MMC for Housing, who said the municipality is aware of this worrying trend and that plans are afoot to help better the economy, which will turn around the livelihoods of its residents.
Mahuma also shared some future programmes lined up in their bid to tackle unemployment.
However, some experts like Gerhard Papenfus, Chief Executive Officer of the National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA) said the high unemployment among the young is worrisome and that the 55,2 per cent joblessness rate among the youth is simply unacceptable.
“Throughout the country, only one in three young people of working age is employed. This distressing statistic does not only indicate the limited earning potential and future prospects of these youths, but that it is worsened by subdued business growth and unsustainable pressure on government’s social programmes,” Papenfus said.
He also highlighted that the official unemployment rate has risen from 27,1 per cent, to 27,6 per cent between January and March 2019.
“The unofficial unemployment rate is closer to 40 per cent. An estimated 237 000 people lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2019, with the overall number of unemployed standing at 6,2 million. Although government is still adamant that it will meet its objective of creating nearly 300 000 jobs per annum, that target is not realistic,” Papenfus added.
