Youth unemployment remains a highly contentious and multifaceted issue in South Africa. In fact, after the release of the latest figures – that show that about 48 percent of South Africans between 15 and 34 were unemployed in the third quarter of 2016 – experts have been quoted in the media as stating that the situation has now reached a “chronic” state.  

In response to this, Ms Precious Mncayi and Mr Jacques De Jongh, both experts within the field of economics from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark, share the sentiment that the country’s youth unemployment figures are worrisome and that it necessitate the implementation of a range of public and private interventions as a matter of urgency.
If not addressed, the situation is expected to increase the already high levels of frustrationand impatience among the youth and it will contribute to the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty continuing to affect the next generation.

According to Mncayi and De Jongh the country has experienced years of slow economic growth (below three percent) preventing job creation. Effective and efficient education promises a better outlook but this advantaged is not enjoyed by all, as there is an argument to be made that job creation in South Africa seems to be directed towards jobs for which many of these young people are potentially insufficiently prepared for.
Many factors present themselves as catalysts for youth employment, but in the case of South Africa, improving the education system seems to be at the forefront. It must be ensured that qualifications are appropriately connected to the needs of the labour market.

Youth unemployment as a leading socio-economic concern
Youth unemployment is a global problem and it is estimated that about 40 percent of the world’s young people are without a sustainable job. The World Bank furthermore predicts that over the next decade at least 600 million young people around the world will compete for a mere 200 million jobs.
In South Africa more than 5,7 million citizens are actively looking for employment – and it is the youth (between the ages of 15 and 24) who are facing the brunt of this socio-economic challenge.

Trends in youth unemployment
The difficulty for those between the ages of 15 and 34 struggling to access decent employment opportunities has translated to the social and economic exclusion of this cohort. It has been a central issue for the last decade but despite a plethora of national directed policy options, the problem has remained pervasive and in fact has worsened during the period. Since 2009 the share of those between the ages of 15 and 34 in the working population has fallen from 42,6 percent to less than 38 percent in 2016. Official unemployment rates for the cohort suggest that more than 48 percent find themselves without work. Recent figures released by the International Labour Organisation suggest that South Africa has the third highest youth unemployment rate across the globe.

It is a situation which poses a major threat to the country’s ability for future economic prosperity and which hampers the capability to vest a foundation on which a thriving and productive labour force could be built.

Apart from the struggles in procuring employment, a particularly disturbing trend is that more young people have stopped looking for work. Since 2008, young discouraged work seekers (those who are not economically active), have increased by eight percent. Furthermore, when focusing on those between the ages of 15 and 24 years – those who would be entering their first job or continuing their studies – approximately a third are currently not in employment, education or training.

Not only does the group represent those who are more susceptible to chronic unemployment, but the lack of investment in their productivity brings to it an erosion of skills and consequently lower future probabilities of securing a job. The significance in the lack of providing opportunities for the youth attributes consequences to both the individual and their societies.

Evidence suggests that facing long-term spells of unemployment early in an individual’s career imposes the youth’s future probability of finding work which increases the intergenerational nature of poverty. For society the exclusion of young and inexperienced work seekers have been largely associated with the induced criminal activities, violence and substance abuse that affect community’s quality of life.