There is broad consensus that youth unemployment in south africa is critical, with latest figures confirming that one half of young people 1534 years are. However, little success has been achieved in the struggle to create sufficient jobs. Revisiting graduate unemployment in south africa 71point4. Blaauw and kleynhans 2015 revealed that graduate unemployment in south africa was a result of employers perceptions of. Prevalence, characteristics and perceived causes submitted in partial fulfillment for a master of arts, in research psychology by research and coursework degree, at the university of the witwatersrands school of human and community development. In south africa, many people blame foreigners, who work. In section 2 the general labour market trends in south africa. Job creation was a leading goal of government policy during the first decade of democracy in south africa following the end of apartheid in 1994. The study undertakes an empirical assessment of the main sources of youth unemployment in africa. Among graduates in this age group, the unemployment rate was 31,0% during this period compared to 19,5% in the 4 th quarter of 2018 an increase of 11,4 percentage points quarteronquarter. Technikons in south africa can be compared, historically, with the polytechnics of the uk.
Youth unemployment remains a major political and socioeconomic challenge in africa despite the recent strong growth performance of many african countries. More importantly, large scale corruption remains unabated, stagnating and retarding economic development with negative spillover effects on the economies of most of the developing nations. Graduate unemployment in the face of skills shortages. The frequently reported crisis in graduate unemployment in south africa is a fallacy based on questionable research. Within graduate employability studies, calls have been made to understand the factors around employability especially within a context of high unemployment. The state of employment and unemployment in south africa free download from. The unemployment rate of 25% in the fourth quarter of 2010 stats sa, 2011 is among the highest in the world. Graduate unemployment in the context of skills shortages, education and training. According to the collins corpus english dictionary 2006, p. While the role of higher education in human capital development and economic growth is not a new. Graduate uemploymet i south africa a much exaggerated problem the popular view that possession of a university degree no longer guarantees success in the job market is simply not true. One month ago, south africa celebrated youth day, an event that commemorates the 1976 soweto youth uprising for better education. Labour market dynamics 1994 vs 2014 number of individuals the number of employed has increased by 6,1 million since 1994. Introduction youth unemployment poses a formidable policy challenge for south africa.
This paper aims to explore the graduate unemployment problem, drawing on various labour and household surveys conducted by statistics south africa, as well as recent literature on the issue. In the banking sector, oluwajodu, greyling, blaauw and kleynhans 2015 revealed that graduate unemployment in south africa was a result of employers perceptions of the institutions attended by. However, south africa is still plagued by a phenomenon of unemployment that disproportionately affects its youth. Towards a youth employment strategy for south africa page 6 development planning division working paper series no. This article investigates the relationship between career choice and unemployment length among graduates from a south african university. Since the beginning of the 2000s, a few studies focused particularly on youth and graduate unemployment, but there has been a lack of research in this area in recent years. The analysis shows that graduate unemployment in south africa is not only low in relation to overall unemployment in the country, but that much of the raciallydelineated differentials in graduate unemployment and employment outcomes can likely be attributed to. Introduction as part of the development policy research units research into graduate unemployment see working paper 06114 a series of interviews with some of south africas largest.
The collapse of the graduate labour market in south africa. This demand for higherskilled labour stands in strong contrast to the reality of the majority of young people in south africa. The state of employment and unemployment in south africa. Hence, this dissertation aims to fill some gap in the available research by investigating the extent, nature and causes of graduate unemployment in south africa. In 2016 international labour organization ilo announced that south africas unemployment would rise to the 6th highest in the world by the year 2020 from its current 8th position. Unemployment is a global phenomenon that plagues both developed and developing countries, with the youth.
Over the past fifteen years, the number of degreed graduates in the labour force has more than doubled even as the graduate unemployment rate has fallen. Both have been transformed in the current period, and the technikons in south africa are now referred to as universities of technology. Since the economic downfall following the international financial crisis in 2008, unemployment rates in south africa have since been increasing and have to date reached 29. The results from the analysis reveal that graduate unemployment in south africa is not rising signi. A systematic overview of the evidence 5 1 introduction 1 the broad definition includes those who have given up looking for work. Towards a youth employment strategy for south africa. At the same time, however, the rising unemployment statistics in south africa, and africa in general, cast many questions as to whether universities adequately prepare students for the job market. The national development plan has identified a number of policy interventions to improve youth employment. While this is slightly lower than the global youth unemployment rate of 12. Graduate unemployment is especially problematic in a country where much emphasis is placed on furthering academic studies for economic and personal rewards. Graduate attributes south african qualifications authority.
Perceptions of factors that affect employability amongst a. In your view, what are the causes of youth unemployment and what should. Among graduates in this age group, the unemployment rate was 31,0% during this period compared to 19,5% in the 4 th quarter of 2018. This study allows for an understanding of the journey from higher education into the labour.
Youth unemployment in sa the curse and the solution it is with great sadness and pain that i pen this article to all south africans, telling them of a matter which they already know of, the youth unemployment crisis. While there are extensive discussions in the media about graduate unemployment and. Statistics south africas results for the first quarter of 2019 showed an unemployment rate of 31% among graduates up to the age of 24. A tertiary qualification did make it a bit easier to get a job, however, in south africas current economic climate, unemployment was growing, hitting as high as 27% some months ago, which. The implications of unemployment in south africa have also resulted in xenophobic attacks in all parts of the country. South africas formal higher education institutions every year. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in south africa has gradually risen over the last decade, from 23. To some extent, this increase in graduate unemployment can be attributed to south africas weak growth performance over the last decade. The dominating form of unemployment in south africa is structural and technological of whereby. The south african reserve bank, the federal reserve economic database and world bank database. Graduate unemployment in india, china and europe were also considered, and it was found that graduate unemployment was not in a unique problem in south africa. Indeed, between 2002 and 2007 when the average annual real gdp growth rate was 4. South africas unemployment rate has continued to increase, according to statistics south africas recentlyreleased quarterly labour survey.
The chronic nature of unemployment is demonstrated by the fact that only 41 per cent and 32 per. This statistic shows the unemployment rate in south africa from 1999 to 2019. Not only is graduate unemployment low at less than 6%, but it also compares well with rates in developed countries. The narrative of an unemployed graduate in south africa. Many enter the labour force with minimal skills due to the failures of.
A qualitative study of the impact of unemployment in. Graduate unemployment is problematic, because it wastes scarce human capital, which is detrimental to the economy in the long run. This study explores the perceived causes of graduate. Graduate unemployment isproblematic, because it wastes scarce human capital, which is detrimental to the economy inthe long run. Youth unemployment in sa the curse and the solution. Without doubt, with the level of the slowdown in economy, the next five years will be critical. South africa is experiencing growth in its graduate labour force, but graduate unemployment is rising with the overall unemployment rate. Youth unemployment in south africa lam, leibrandt and mlatsheni point out that south africa is an important case study for youth unemployment, although research on youth unemployment in south africa is new. The graduate unemployment rate is still lower than the.
What drives youth unemployment and what interventions help. Graduate employability in subsaharan africa what we know employability can be defined as the possession of relevant knowledge, skills and other attributes that facilitate the gaining and maintaining of worthwhile employment. Graduate unemployment is problematic, because it wastes scarce human capital, which is detrimental to. In 2019, the unemployment rate in south africa was around 27. Entrepreneurship a solution to unemployment in south africa. Graduate unemployment in the context of skills shortages. The youth aged 1524 years are the most vulnerable in the south african labour market as the unemployment rate among this age group was 55,2% in the 1 st quarter of 2019. A law degree and a successful internship have not helped one wits graduate, but businesses are doing what they can to get that vital, early foot in the working door. Perspectives from the banking sector article pdf available in sa journal of human resource management 1 march 2015 with 14,249 reads. According to data from the international labour organisation ilo in subsaharan africa, the youth unemployment rate hovers around 12 percent. South africa is experiencing growth in its graduate labour force, but graduateunemployment is rising with the overall unemployment rate. This study thus captured economic growth as real gdp and unemployment as the rate of unemployed labour force in relation to the labour force of the country. A degree and deep desire to work isnt always enough in sa. Employment, unemployment, skills and economic growth.
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