Cape Town – Former President Thabo Mbeki has warned that increasing unemployment was a reflection of a crisis in the economy.
He said unemployment has grown by 13.4% between 2008 and 2021 and this was a serious problem.
He said despite efforts by ANC governments the numbers had not gone down.
The former president also said the economy had not picked up in the last 13 years.
Statistics South Africa released its latest figures recently where it showed unemployment was stubbornly high, with more people joining the ranks of the unemployed.
In the latest numbers unemployment was at 34.9% and this is an increase from 34.4%.
Mbeki said this was not sustainable.
He said both the increase in unemployment and lack of growth by the economy show an economy that was stagnant.
He said the economy cannot absorb millions of people who enter the labour market every year.
These people end up struggling to eke out a living.
Mbeki, who was addressing the Chief Albert Luthuli Memorial Lecture, said the issue of unemployment continues to pose a serious problem to the economy.
He said unemployment has continued to grow in the last few years from 21.5% in 2008 to 34.9% this year.
“The Fourth Quarter unemployment rates for various years are as follows: In 2008 it was 21.5%, 24.5% in 2012, 26.5% in 2016, 27.1% in 2018 and 34.9% in the Third Quarter this year, 2021. We therefore see that this unemployment rate has grown by 13.4% in the 13 years between 2008 and 2021. This means that the millions of the unemployed have continued to grow in number whatever and despite the efforts of the successive ANC governments,” said Mbeki.
“As we would expect, these ever-increasing unemployment rates reflect an economy in crisis. I will cite a few economic growth rate statistics during the period between 2008 and 2020. The growth rate was 3.19% in 2008, down by 2.17% from the previous year. Five years later in 2013 it was 2.49%. Five years later again, in 2018, it was 0.79%. In 2020 the growth rate was -6.96% down by 7.71% from 2019,” he said.
He said this was an indication that the economy was stagnant and unable to create jobs.
POLITICAL BUREAU