GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES, GALLO IMAGES/CITY PRESS/HERMAN VERWEY, GALLO IMAGES/DAVID

MALAN

T

HEstatisticsmakeforgrim

reading.Unemployment

hasjumpedto29%, the

highestratesince2008.

Accordingtonewlyre -

leasedfiguresfromStatis-

ticsSouthAfrica,a totalof

15,4millionpeoplearenot

economicallyactiveand2,7millionhave

givenupallhopeoffindinga job.

Approximately3,3millionyoungpeo-

plebetweentheagesof 15 and 24 arenot

inemployment,educationortraining.

Thereare6,7millionunemployedpeop

betweentheagesof 15 and64.Black

African women are most vulnerable

with an unemployment rate of 30%.

And so it goes on. In a country

lurching from one crisis to the next,

the figures dropped like a ton of bricks

on an already teetering building.

So just what happened? Can any-

thing be done? And is there any light

at the end of the tunnel?

DARK DAYS INDEED

If we are to improve our lot, govern-

ment needs to do “what they’re sup-

posed to do, and do it well”, Dawie

Roodt chief economist at the Efficient

Group,says.“Weneedtocreate an en

THE JOBS CRISIS

Unemployment has reached shocking proportions – but there are

things you can do to keep the wolf from the door BY GABISILE NGCOBO AND LESEGO MAJA

vironment that’s friendly to the private

sector.”

Roodt doesn’t think President Cyril

Ramaphosa has what it takes to make a

difference to the economy.

“He is playing the ‘long-game’, but this

economy doesn’t have a long time.

“Even if we can somehow wave a mag-

ic wand and get rid of the corruption and

incompetence overnight, the perilous

condition of the state’s finances will need

an extraordinary attempt to save us from

further economic collapse.”

Dr Azar Jammine, director and chief

economist at Econometrix, says the

spike in unemployment has serious so-

cial ramifications.

“If you have so many people lying

around without a job it can lead to high

crime levels, which could lead to deteri-

orating overall economic activity.”

Poor education contributed to rising

unemployment and inequality, Jammine

adds. “We need to improve educational

outcomes [but] it’s a difficult long-term

process. There are no short cuts.”

10 | 15 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za