ANC head of economic transformation Enoch Gondongwana said he expected government to prioritise the vaccine roll-out programme, but that it must also prioritise programmes with higher employment outcomes.
Stats SA on Tuesday said the country’s unemployment rate declined to 23.3% between April and June from 30.1% in the quarter before.
Stats SA confirmed on Tuesday that in the first quarter of 2020, before the country went into national lockdown, the unemployment rate rose to 30.1%.
The unemployment rate increased by 1 percentage point from 29.1% by December 2019.
President Cyril Ramaphosa promised on Tuesday night that government would reveal its plan to ease the lockdown restrictions in an address later on Thursday.
Over 11 million people in the country are locked out of the labour market, but measures are being put in place to try cushion the blow of the pandemic and its consequences.
Ahead of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's budget speech on Wednesday, these activists said government's plans to create jobs should include input from the unemployed.
He was speaking at a National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) event in Cape Town ahead of his State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening.
On Wednesday, unions received section 189 notices which will affect workers in the open-serve and consumer divisions.
Job creation is a major problem in South Africa, with unemployment increasing despite various interventions from government.
The Expanded Public Works Programme, the Youth Employment Service, and the National Youth Service are all set to continue.
