Petition launched to address South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis

South Africa faces an unemployment crisis, with the most recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) from Stats SA confirming that one in three local adults are unemployed.

The situation is equally dire for South African youth, and local organisation Youth Capital wants to do something about it, having launched a petition aimed at holding government accountable for several of its failed promises when it comes to initiatives related to addressing youth unemployment.

“While the economy added 101 000 jobs this quarter, the number of employed young people aged 15–34 fell again, to 5.5 million from 5.9 million last year. Youth unemployment remains near a record high at 47.3%, meaning almost one in two young people looking for work cannot find it,” it highlighted in a release to Hypertext.

A third of South African adults are unemployed

Further unpacking the numbers, Youth Capital pointed out that the older age groups within the unemployed youth segment are the worst affected. As such, it would appear that as local youth get older, the prospects of finding gainful employment worsens.

“417 000 fewer young people aged 15–34 were employed than a year earlier. Among 15–24-year-olds, employment fell by 160 000, while the unemployment rate climbed from 58.5% to 63.6%. Only 9.8% of all young people in this age group were employed,” it emphasised.

“The crisis does not ease as young people get older: among 25–34-year-olds, employment fell by a further 257 000, while unemployment increased from 38.4% to 41.4%. This is not simply a story of young people struggling to enter the labour market; it is a failure to absorb young people into work, it continued.

Moving forward, Youth Capital wants to hold government accountable, hoping that the petition will serve as evidence in terms of how unemployed youth feel about the circumstances they currently face in South Africa.

On this front, Youth Capital is calling for “predictable, multi-year funding for public employment, with at least one million quality paid opportunities for young people annually.”

Whether a petition would be enough to get government to act remains to be seen, but with little other recourse available in terms of making their voices known, such initiatives can at least serve to further highlight the crisis.

“Growth, stronger school-to-work pathways and better conditions for self-enterprise all matter. But growth cannot be the only clock young people are expected to live by,” Youth Capital concluded.

To sign the petition, which is already close to its target 8 000 signatures, head here.

[Image – Photo by Andrew Petrischev on Unsplash]

Let's talk tech!

Get the tech news you want to read. Take our reader survey and tell us how we can help you better.

Take the survey now