Research shows that unemployment is the single biggest cause of both poverty and inequality.
The youth unemployment numbers released by Statistics SA on Tuesday confirmed that young people continue to be the most vulnerable in the market, with nearly 1 in 2 young people between the ages of 15 and 34 being unemployed. It also highlights that the opportunities for decent work are simply not there for young people- not surprising given our stagnating economy. ‘The withdrawn budget doesn’t see a focus on strategies that have the potential to stimulate the economy while including young people – instead it shows an attitude of ‘attempting more with less’ and unclear plans on how to extend the public employment programmes in the medium-long term’ says Clotilde Angelucci, Acting Project Lead at Youth Capital, a campaign advocating for policy change to solve unemployment.
Research by the World Bank Research Observer has indicated that public employment programmes can generate significant positive outcomes in employment, but their design is critical. ‘On our home turf, we have seen the same in the work that Youth Capital has done on the Basic Education Employment Initiative; public employment programmes, when well designed, can connect young people with the world of work, but the focus on skills development need to come with a clear network of exit pathway’ says Angelucci. Youth Capital strongly encourages National Treasury to consult civil society and young people for the need to balance skills development, exit pathways and small business inclusion, and keep in mind the trickle up impact of social spending in the wider economy.
Youth Capital research on the cost of looking for work shows that 8 in 10 young people have to choose between buying food and looking for work, while 6 in 10 households in South Africa are food insecure .The Household Affordability Index released by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity group indicate a cost increase of the household food basket , overriding the minimum wage: What this means is that that a worker on the national minimum wage is almost 50% short of what is required to purchase a basic monthly food basket for their family. The proposed VAT increase will only exacerbate this gap, pushing essential nutrition even further out of reach. ‘Youth Capital strongly encourages National Treasury to explore different revenue raising avenues that don’t hit the most vulnerable population the worst. We welcome National Treasury’s innovative ways of funding the teacher assistant programme via UIF surplus in the 2024 budget; however, due to administrative holdups the funds were never released. Young people have no time to lose, and we hope that solutions are explored with urgency ‘ adds Angelucci. ‘
