Tales of the Young And the Jobless
Lindile Ndlovu
Business Day (Johannesburg)
NEWS
5 July 2007
Posted to the web 5 July 2007
By Ann Bernstein
Johannesburg
THE unbelievably high levels of unemployment among young people in SA
should be the subject of sleepless nights for politicians, policy
makers and other leaders. According to official statistics, the strict
unemployment rate for young people aged 15-24 last year was no less
than 50,2% -- almost double the general unemployment rate of 25,5%.
Even this grim statistic does not tell the whole story. More young
people are discouraged from seeking work than people in any other age
group. If those who are no longer looking for work are included, the
unemployment rate for young people expands to 65,2%, compared with the
general unemployment figure of about 38%.
What is more, the burden of unemployment falls disproportionately on
young Africans in what amounts to a continuing structure of
disadvantage.
Worst of all, the situation is not really improving. Accelerated
economic growth -- from a low base -- over the past few years has had
only a marginal impact on youth unemployment; from 2001 to 2006,
according to the official figures, unemployment in the 15-24 age
bracket dropped by a mere 3,1 percentage points, from 53,4% to 50,2%.
What lies behind the cold official statistics? What are the reasons for
the poor absorption of young South Africans into the labour market?
Policy makers need much more detailed information so they can stop
generalising about this phenomenon and formulate more focused and
effective strategies for addressing it.
Since September 2001, the government's quarterly Labour Force Surveys
(LFS) have generated valuable statistics on youth unemployment, but
information extends over only two years, and analysis has shown that
key data on whether or not respondents have worked before are
unreliable.
In order to generate the improved information that will deepen
knowledge about unemployment among young people, the Centre for
Development Enterprise (CDE), in conjunction with the Centre for
Applied African Microeconomic Research at the University of the
Witwatersrand, conducted new research on employment histories and
unemployment. This retrospective survey was based in three sites:
Johannesburg, eThekwini, and Polokwane.
Titled The South African Young Persons Survey and conducted between
July and November last year, this groundbreaking work traced the
histories of more than 1000 young people -- almost all of them African
-- between the ages of 20 and 35 from their 15th birthdays onwards.
This enabled their education and career paths to be recorded more
accurately and over longer periods than in the LFS and other surveys.
As a result, the CDE research provides important new data on youth
unemployment, and how to set about reducing it.
Given the importance of education in equipping people to both search
for and find jobs, school records were collected for almost all the
respondents.
Also, in order to supplement the results of the quantitative survey
with rich personal recollections, 18 focus groups were convened -- six
in each of the three cities studied. Participants were asked to comment
on education and skills issues, job search issues, and the influence of
their job status on their quality of life.
The main findings of the survey and focus groups are as follows:
• The survey fully confirms the high unemployment rates recorded by
the official LFS. Fifty-six percent of men in the 15-24 age group in
Johannesburg are unemployed; for eThekwini, the figure is 66%; and 65%
for Polokwane. Unemployment among young women in the same age group
stands at 65% in Johannesburg, 68% in eThekwini, and no less than a
staggering 88% in Polokwane.
• In most healthy economies, there is significant job mobility among
young people as they experiment with jobs until they find those that
best suit them. This desirable process enhances the efficiency of the
labour market. However, under the stress of unemployment in SA, young
people hold on to their first jobs for as long as they can, and only a
small minority leave them voluntarily to look for other jobs better
suited to their talents and aspirations. This probably means that a
significant portion of the incoming workforce is not optimally utilised
(mismatched or underemployed), with significant consequences for
national economic performance and productivity.
• Race, gender and place matter when it comes to unemployment. Young
Africans tend to be jobless for longer periods than young people of
other population groups. Young African women are jobless for longer
than young men; young African women without a senior certificate or
equivalent are jobless for longer than those with better educational
qualifications; and young African women in more remote parts of the
country are jobless for longer than those in urban areas.
• Most young people prefer to be formally employed rather than
self-employed, as they perceive the latter option as very risky. This
is a major barrier to encouraging self-employment as a means of
reducing joblessness among young people in a context where there are
many obstacles to the creation of large-scale formal employment.
The focus group discussions revealed high levels of dissatisfaction
with their job status among young people. Nearly 70% of those
participating said they were "very dissatisfied" or "dissatisfied" with
their lives. Moreover, a majority of selfemployed participants also
said that they were "very dissatisfied" or "dissatisfied" with their
lives -- an ominous indicator of the quality of self-employment.
These findings tally with SA's low recorded levels of entrepreneurship
and should greatly concern policy makers.
The findings emerging from CDE's research clearly indicate the need for
a greater sense of urgency. Bold strategic interventions are required
at national and local levels of government.
We need to move beyond words, small interventions and projects that are
seldom evaluated for their effect and start to think about systemic
interventions that could make a difference on scale.
Looking at the realities of "not having a job" puts a very different
perspective on the long delay in getting rid of the regulations that
hamper small business in this country; or the cascading negative
consequences of crime and its effects on smaller enterprises and
entry-level businesses that can be devastated by the continuing high
rates of crime.
The massive scale of unemployment among young South Africans is an
issue of considerable national concern. It is not receiving the
attention it deserves.
Copyright © 2007 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by
AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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Lindile Ndlovu
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