No cause to celebrate

We have a whole day set aside by the government every year to honour workers and their rights. It supposedly celebrates the working class and trade unions, highlighting their role in achieving democratic, fair, and safe working conditions. 

Sounds great, except we have an epidemic of unemployment in this country so there really is no cause to celebrate. Instead, this government should be doing everything in its power to turn this horrible trajectory of failure around. 

We have one of the highest, if not the highest, official unemployment rates in the world, with almost one-third of our adult population without work. 

That’s roughly 7.8 million adults who don’t have jobs, nor any prospects for jobs. As for the youth, the numbers skyrocket to 43.8% of people younger than 35 of employable age. What are the chances of such people, struggling to find jobs in the first 15 years of their working lives and careers, suddenly becoming gainfully employed? Exactly! 

Perhaps you think these figures don’t sound so bad. Well, let’s compare our situation with other countries. The global average unemployment rate is 5%. So, we are more than six times higher than the average. 

Countries that exceed South Africa’s rate are generally war zones, extremely unstable, or in a state of collapse. 

The only countries with close to the same official unemployment figures as ours are Sudan, which is in a state of conflict and economic collapse, Libya, Yemen, and Namibia. In most countries with seriously struggling economies, there is between 8% and 12% unemployment. 

However, our economy is mostly stable and considered a middle-income to developed economy, and we aren’t in a state of war. Among economies like ours, there is no comparable unemployment rate. 

Among the 11 countries involved in the BRICS bloc, Brazil has 5.6% to 6.6% unemployment, China just above 5%, India 3% to 5%, and Russia between 2% and 3%. 

What is astonishing is that we are not seeing our government doing anything radical to change the situation. How often do you hear ministers even talking about unemployment or a plan of action to address it? How frequently is it even acknowledged that this is a problem? 

Surely when you have one of the biggest unemployment problems in the world, you don’t look at anything other than how to fix it. It’s hardly as if we don’t have lots of work available. You just have to look at the massive potholes and infrastructure problems in Johannesburg to know there is much work to be done. Yet nobody is doing it. 

I read a post by the wise South African writer and public intellectual William Gumede, who wrote, “It is critical that voters get to understand that no matter how good anti-poverty and job creation may be, if governing political leaders and public servants are corrupt, incompetent, and uncaring, these policies will never be effectively implemented.” 

He went on to say, “Corrupt, incompetent, and uncaring governing political leaders and public servants simply do not have the skills, intention, and will to implement policies, no matter how good these policies may be.” 

I couldn’t have said or written it better. Which is why we are in the unemployment crisis we are in. We have a government that focuses on wars in the Middle East and fighting against Israel, while seemingly forgetting the crises in its own backyard. 

Such massive unemployment – if not turned around soon – will just escalate and lead to yet another generation of jobless individuals. When most people finish school, they have big dreams of a good job, having their own home, and starting a family. Perhaps they strive for a university education, but there is no question they want to acquire skills they need to do the best they can. 

However, when these dreams keep being scuppered and, try as they may, they cannot find work, it is tough to stay focused on trying. And while I know crime is not a natural choice, when a person is desperate to feed their family, it may be inevitable. 

So, we continue down a spiral. 

However, when considering why we have massive unemployment, the problems don’t seem insurmountable. According to experts, it is mostly a structural issue. In other words, it emanates from how the economy and labour market are set up. 

Many more people enter the job market every year than there are new jobs. The schooling system produces low literacy, numeracy, and technical skills, and employers have difficulty finding candidates with job-ready abilities. So, employers seek out people with more experience to fill fewer jobs. In South Africa, there are relatively high wages for entry-level jobs, so employers hire fewer low-skilled or inexperienced workers. A major problem is ensuring that people are adequately trained for the available jobs, rather than for sectors where there are none. These are just some of the issues. 

However, by making it easier for small businesses and the informal sector to grow and develop, jobs will be created. The government can help make it cheaper and safer to employ first-time workers. It is vital for the country to fix the skills pipeline to ensure the right abilities are out there. We need to strengthen heavy labour-absorbing sectors, like tourism, agriculture, construction, and green energy, to name but a few. 

In our community, there is an inordinate number of people doing whatever they can to help upskill and get young South Africans working. They have plans. I am just not sure how much support they get from the government. 

While I am certainly no expert in this, I do believe we have great minds in this country who could solve unemployment. If they and legitimate leaders care enough to change the way things are in this country, they can fix this crisis. 

Shabbat shalom! 

Peta Krost 

Editor