As the country looks to repair the economic damage caused by Covid-19 and the national lockdown, concerns about unemployment have risen.
EWN senior reporter Nthakoana Ngatane in conversation with NYDA CEO Waseem Carrim, YES CEO Tashmia Ismail-Saville, and Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute's Danita Hingston on Inside EWN: The Round Table. This week's discussion: Youth unemployment: How do we defuse a ticking time bomb?
The number of discouraged work-seekers in the country has increased by close to 500,000, while the total number of people who are not economically active for other reasons increased to 5.6 million between the first and second quarter of the year.
The unemployment rate increased by 1 percentage point from 29.1% by December 2019.
The statistics organisation has released it’s the results on the education and labour market outcomes in South Africa for 2018.
President Ramaphosa said that the high youth unemployment rate was unacceptable.
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.
Statistics South Africa on Tuesday announced the country's official unemployment rate had remained at 29.1% in the fourth quarter last year - the highest since 2008.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura said the province is heeding the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa to get the country ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
EWN has compiled some of Cyril Ramaphosa’s top quotes since taking over from former President Jacob Zuma last year.
Young people will be exposed to various career opportunities pertaining to the hospitality industry, social work and the film industry.
Ramaphosa says through improving the standards of education, the country enable young people to have better prospects of success in the future.
They say that they want the government to come up with solutions to tackle the rising unemployment rate.
There have been concerns of whether this summit will come up with tangible solutions with the South African Federation of Trade Unions saying it won’t be attending.
The two-day summit is another attempt by president Cyril Ramaphosa to stimulate growth.
The National Youth Development Agency chairperson Sifiso Mtsweni made the call to the president ahead of his address.
The president says government is aware that many young people are without jobs.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the private sector needs to embrace the YES initiative and help young people get absorbed in the job market.
