South Africa remains trapped in the world’s deepest unemployment crisis, with over 12 million people unable to find work - and government’s piecemeal job schemes failing to make a real impact.
That’s according to the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) in its latest report, South Africa’s Unemployment Catastrophe: A Call for Urgent Action, which says economic growth and bold reforms are the only sustainable solutions.
CDE executive director Ann Bernstein said that for the past 17 years, about 1 000 people have joined the unemployment queue every day. While the labour force has grown by 42 percent in two decades, employment has risen by just 15 percent.
Bernstein said the collapse of Eskom and Transnet, a worsening fiscal crisis, corruption, and poor policy decisions have all strangled growth. “When an economy doesn’t grow, nor does the number of jobs,” she warned.
The report argues that programmes like the Expanded Public Works Programme and the Presidential Employment Stimulus provide only temporary relief and cannot replace structural reform.
The CDE says a labour-absorbing economy will require tough choices, including easing rigid labour laws, scrapping dysfunctional skills agencies, and cutting red tape for small and informal businesses.
Bernstein said an average growth rate of 4 percent could create around 400 000 jobs a year - but this would demand political courage. “The country needs leadership willing to confront vested interests and make the changes required,” she said.
“The choice is stark,” Bernstein added. “We can act with urgency and create a pathway to inclusive prosperity, or condemn another generation to joblessness. The time for reform is now.”
That’s according to the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) in its latest report, South Africa’s Unemployment Catastrophe: A Call for Urgent Action, which says economic growth and bold reforms are the only sustainable solutions.
CDE executive director Ann Bernstein said that for the past 17 years, about 1 000 people have joined the unemployment queue every day. While the labour force has grown by 42 percent in two decades, employment has risen by just 15 percent.
Bernstein said the collapse of Eskom and Transnet, a worsening fiscal crisis, corruption, and poor policy decisions have all strangled growth. “When an economy doesn’t grow, nor does the number of jobs,” she warned.
The report argues that programmes like the Expanded Public Works Programme and the Presidential Employment Stimulus provide only temporary relief and cannot replace structural reform.
The CDE says a labour-absorbing economy will require tough choices, including easing rigid labour laws, scrapping dysfunctional skills agencies, and cutting red tape for small and informal businesses.
Bernstein said an average growth rate of 4 percent could create around 400 000 jobs a year - but this would demand political courage. “The country needs leadership willing to confront vested interests and make the changes required,” she said.
“The choice is stark,” Bernstein added. “We can act with urgency and create a pathway to inclusive prosperity, or condemn another generation to joblessness. The time for reform is now.”