Johannesburg - “The signals show an ailing, job-losing country,” said Statistician-General Pali Lehohla as he released yet another report detailing the dire conditions of South Africa’s labour market.
Under different circumstances, a 1.5 million increase in employed people recorded between 2009 and 2015 would mean good news for the job-starved, however, the country’s stubborn unemployment rate has made that impossible.
Figures contained in the labour dynamics report showed that, while the formal sector continued to contribute to job creation with an increase of 968 000 opportunities in the period under review, declines in other sectors held back growth.
The manufacturing sector shed a total of 192 000 jobs, dampening prospects of economic improvement, while the rising number of the unemployed compounded the problem.
“The growth in unemployment is 3.5 million, and that is about 400 000 more people unemployed between 2009 and 2015 and the number of employed youth increased by 260 000 compared to number of youth that are unemployed 371 000, the number of unemployed much more than those who are employed and the youth unemployment is almost 36 percent,” said Lehohla at the report’s release in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The current unemployment rate of 25.3 percent also came short of the National Development Plan target of 14 percent in 2020 by 11.3 percent.
Also contained in the report were figures Lehohla said were telling in explaining SA’s historical past as the country came to terms with the #FeesMustFall campaign.
The youth rate of those not in education, employment or training stood at 30.5% which equalled 3.1 million young people aged 15-24 years old.
The majority of this group of disenfranchised groups were black at 31.7 percent, while whites accounted for 13.9 percent.
“We still see race based disadvantages or advantage, it shows in the numbers and throughout education is very crucial. We’ve seen 3.1 people who are not in education or training within the group that could be in training and in employment at a later instance. That’s what the labour market said to us between 2009 and 2015,” Lehohla said.
@ThetoThakane
LABOUR BUREAU