South Africa’s unemployment rate has climbed to 33.6%, with youth unemployment reaching a critical milestone of five million people aged 15-34 without work, according to Nkosinathi Mahlangu, youth employment specialist at Momentum Group Foundation.
The latest quarterly figures show a significant increase in new entrants into unemployment, with young people struggling to secure their first entry point into the labour market.
Long-term unemployment reaches critical levels
Almost 78% of unemployed South Africans have been without work for a year or longer, creating a deepening crisis that makes re-entry into employment progressively harder.
The problem extends beyond job creation to what Mahlangu describes as an entry problem, where young people reaching working age cannot find their first foothold in the economy.
NEET statistics reveal scale of crisis
Almost one in two South Africans aged 15-34 is neither employed nor in education or training, a group referred to as NEET. This cohort represents the segment most at risk of becoming permanently disconnected from the labour market.
Mahlangu said upskilling initiatives need to be more deliberately linked to actual employment opportunities rather than existing as standalone programmes.
Finance sector shows promise
A slight rise in employment within the finance sector offers some encouragement. Momentum Group Foundation has begun recruiting unemployed graduates for training and absorption as financial advisers, though Mahlangu said this requires consolidated sector-wide effort to identify additional opportunities.
The foundation is calling for better coordination between skills development, employment opportunities and labour market absorption. Training programmes, Mahlangu said, cannot be the end goal but must create credible pathways into sustainable work.
The distinction between temporary job opportunities provided through various programmes and actual jobs that create sustainable career pathways remains a critical challenge facing policymakers and employers.
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