Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reveals in the latest quarterly labour survey that 80 000 jobs were shed in the Northern Cape in the second quarter of 2020/21 - the least number in the country for this quarter. However, when you compare the number of employed people between the first and second quarter in the Northern Cape, the latest figures do in fact represent a 24% reduction - the highest, when compared to the other provinces.

OFM News’ reported earlier, in the first quarter of 2020/21, the Central South African province recorded the highest rate of young people aged 15-24 years not in employment, education or training. 

Figures for the first quarter of 2020, indicated that the unemployment rate among the youth is higher irrespective of their education level. At the time, youth unemployment in the Northern Cape stood at 41.6%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and its central South African neighbour, the North West.

The OFM News team recently sat down with investor, author and small business expert, Pavlo Phitidis, to gauge his thoughts on the country’s unemployment woes. Phitidis urged South Africa’s increasingly disgruntled youth to acquire some work experience, albeit elementary, before venturing into entrepreneurship. He said the idea of being young and owning your own business without having prior work experience is one that is sold largely by the South African government - which has failed to support a thriving economy that offers sufficient job opportunities for its citizens. 

Phitidis’ sentiments come as Stats SA released its quarterly labour survey numbers on Tuesday, confirming over two million jobs were shed in the pandemic quarter. He advises the youth to decide which industry they want to start a business in and try to get their foot in the door, even if it’s on a part-time basis at first.

He says, if for example you want to start a business in the transport sector, the best thing to do would be to try and find a job in that sector. If you can’t, and there are no jobs available in your sector of choice, try and obtain some employment in the same field on a part-time basis. “Because the moment you do start to work part-time, you can learn a little about the transport sector, you can show how you apply yourself and understand where the opportunities lie”. From there onwards, you can build relationships with other businesses or service providers in that industry or sector and begin consulting for those businesses, says Phitidis. This also helps to build experience.

While the number of employed South Africans dropped by 2,2 million in the pandemic quarter, the unemployment rate dropped to 23,3% from 30,1%, due to the lower number of people seeking employment during the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown.

OFM News