Tag: unemployment rate

South African businesses in the metals and engineering (M&E) sector have faced enormous challenges over the past few years, with the  pandemic compounding an already difficult situation. A shrinking domestic market, declining production, weak production sales, a smaller contribution to the economy, increasing joblessness, cheap imports and low investment levels are just some of the issues they face.

The Statistics SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q2 2021 paints a grim picture of the employment landscape in South Africa – the official unemployment rate is 34.4%. Most significant of all, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 years stood at 64.4% and the unemployment rate for those aged 25-34 years was 42.9%.

South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates globally, which results in significant economic challenges. It has also created a growing contingent of discouraged job seekers, who have effectively given up on trying to secure employment, which exacerbates the issue.

Statistics South Africa has published the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QFLS) for Q3 2021, showing how continued lockdown restrictions, load shedding, and the July riots impacted jobs in the country. The results show that the number of employed persons decreased by 660,000 in the third quarter of 2021 to 14.3 million.

South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates globally, which results in significant economic challenges. It has also created a growing contingent of discouraged job seekers, who have effectively given up on trying to secure employment, which exacerbates the issue.

Economic freedom enshrines personal choice, voluntary exchange and protection of private property. It is the freedom to start a business or hire an employee without government interference, or to invest and trade with whomever you please.

South Africa ranks 84th out of 165 countries and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2021 Annual Report, that we have released in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute. In 2000, South Africa ranked 58th on the list of countries analysed.

While we acknowledge the positive structural reforms currently underway by government – most notably the lifting of the self-generation threshold to 100MW – command control plans of enforced localisation stand to undo any potential positive upsides of other reforms.

Globally, the perennial battle to alleviate poverty is an enduring one and in this respect South Africa is no exception. According to Statistics SA almost half of the adult population in our country is living below the upper-bound poverty line.

The Department of Social Development’s Green Paper on Comprehensive Social Security and Retirement Reform will, if adopted, result in the most harm for those it is ostensibly intended to benefit. We call on government to urgently reconsider any proposals that increase the state’s power over citizens’ financial affairs and urges all South Africans to resist the proposals contained in the paper.