Cape Town - The stress of being unemployed is keeping the South African Depression and Anxiety Group’s (Sadag) phone lines busy.
The latest statistics show the unemployment rate increased by 1.4% from 27.6% in the first quarter of 2019 to 29% in the second quarter.
Sadag director Cassey Chambers said unemployment and the accompanying economic worries placed an enormous amount of physical and mental stress on the individual and those close to them.
Zanele Ndeya, 32, from Brackenfell worked for a telecommunications company for 30 months and has been unemployed for more than six months after her employment contract expired.
“I feel like I’m a failure. Spending three years towards a degree only to feel as if the qualification is useless.”
Luzuko Ndyantyi, a final-year student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, is shocked by the number of unemployed people.
“This has surely sent shock waves and fears to students across the country and everyone, especially those preparing to enter the job market.”
Labour expert Hugo Pienaar said entrepreneurship had to be encouraged, but could only be sustainable if allowed to operate in a less-regulated labour environment.
