Youth remains jobless, Q1 unemployment stats reveal

Several organisations say the latest unemployment stats paint a bleak picture for the country, especially the youth.

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This comes in the wake of Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) releasing the Quarterly Labour Force Survey on Tuesday, indicating the increase in unemployment for the first quarter of 2023.

The unemployment rate increased to 32.9% in the first three months of the year (January- March 20203) from 32.7%, an increase of 0,2 of a percentage compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

While the expanded definition, stood at 42.4% compared to the previous quarter where it was 24.6%.

Songezo Zibi, of Rise Mzansi said said the stats revealed the exclusion and despair of the country’s people.

“Too many young people, by no fault of their own do not have the means to compete their schooling due to conditions at home and in their communities.

“The ANC government neither sees them, nor has a plan for upskilling them.

“It is difficult to see how employment opportunities will emerge when there is no electricity and most municipalities, which host all businesses, are corrupt and poorly administered,” he said.

Zibi slammed government’s response to the report citing that they did not care for the majority of South Africans who are suffering.

“The statics release must act as another reminder that for South Africans to change and for us to truly build the South Africa we all deserve,” he added.

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Meanwhile, South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) said while it was not surprised by the decline in employment as they previously said remained doubtful that SA had entered a trajectory of growth for employment.

“SAFTU is not surprised by the current decline in employment. The minor episodic increases in employment do not reflect the main trajectory of employment rate in South Africa,” it said in a statement.

Among its resolutions to the crisis, it said government needed to increase its general expenditure by investing directly into the economy and creating jobs guarantee scheme.

“This requires them to abandon altogether the policy of austerity that they have implemented with much devotion and dexterity.

“This will not only create employment at one instance but will stimulate expansion of the economy which also has the potential of job creation.”

Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister for Employment and Labour said, “An analysis of these figures reveal that the ANC government’s inability to ensure a stable power supply is exacerbating this crisis.

“Even more alarming is the revelation that 3.7 million young people, accounting for 36.1% of the 15-24 age group are not in employment, in education or training.

“This is a ticking time bomb, threatening to explode with catastrophic social and economic consequences.”

The first quarter of 2023 shows that the total number of unemployed youth (15-34 years) increased by 241 000 to 4.9 million, while there was an increase of 28 000 in the number of employed youth to 5.6 million during the same period. This resulted in an increase in youth unemployment rate by 1,1% points to 46, 5% in 1 2023.

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The stats reported that there was an increase of 129 000 South Africans who are without jobs, bringing the number to 7.9 million, during the same quarter.

“The number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement decreased by 209 000 13,2 million.

“The discouraged work-seekers decreased by 87 000 in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 resulting in a net decrease of 296 000 in the not economically active population,”’ Stats SA said on Tuesday.