This, according to the Youth Development officer in the Office of the Free State premier, Tswelopele Manabile. Participating in the provincial Youth Parliament and dialogue led by the Provincial Legislature, Manabile says there remains a high need to invest in the youth and address challenges they face. 

She told the House these are not only limited to the triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment, but now include ways in which they need to take to sustain their livelihood and businesses amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Manabile says whilst much has been done through the provincial bursary schemes to enable young people to further their studies both locally and internationally, more still needs to be done to address the question of high unemployment.

Manabile’s statement comes just days after the Quarterly Labour Force Survey was released on Tuesday, and which indicated that the number of unemployed South Africans now stands at 30.1% with young people and women still the hardest hit.

The report indicated that approximately 8,5 million or (41,7%) of the 20,4 million young people aged 15-34 years were not employed, nor receiving education or training.

Statistician Risenga Malule indicated that the unemployment rate among the youth is higher irrespective of their education level and for those aged between 25-34, it is more than double that of people in the age group of 45-54. 

While the Eastern Cape has recorded the highest official and expanded unemployment rate in the country, it is followed by the Free State at 38.4%.

Whilst the latest unemployment data also shows the country is worse off than at the end of 2019, things are expected to get much worse as the labour force data only represent the first quarter of the year, the period before the nationwide coronavirus lockdown came into effect.

The lockdown, which shut down large parts of the economy for five weeks and continues to keep some sectors locked, is expected to have a negative impact on the economy and employment in the country.

Economists, the Reserve Bank and National Treasury have all warned of the negative impact of the coronavirus, predicting it will lead to the contraction of the economy and job losses.

Manabile says the pandemic has placed young people in a far worse position and calls on the private sector to join hands with the provincial government to address the scourge of joblessness.

OFM News