Govt urged to put youth unemployment crisis back on top of agenda
Young people continue to battle to make ends meet despite an overall improvement in the country’s national unemployment figure, which now sits at 31.9%.
Job hunting and unemployment. Picture: Pixabay
JOHANNESBURG - Some activists have called on government to put the youth unemployment crisis back at the top of the agenda, as young people battle to make ends meet.
This is despite an overall improvement in the country’s national unemployment figure, which now sits at 31.9%.
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Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released the quarter four figures on Tuesday, marking a marginal drop in joblessness.
But of the eight million people who are unemployed, half of those are young people.
The acting project lead at Youth Capital, Clotilde Angelucci, said that while there were skills and jobs programmes aimed at the youth, a long-lasting solution is yet to be established.
"The issue is that these programmes are often not funded. So, if you look at the Basic Education Employment Initiative last year [2024], it was totally cancelled. So, I think it is not just the jobs, but the continuity of funding to make sure these programmes work in the long run."