Jobs Stats: BOSA requests debate of urgent national importance in Parliament over unemployment crisis

13 November 2024

Build One South Africa (BOSA) has today written to the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ms Thoko Didiza, - in terms of Rule 130 of the NA Rules - requesting a debate of urgent national importance on the stubbornly high unemployment rate in South Africa.

Yesterday, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q3:2024 was released, revealing a concerning trend in long-term unemployment, which requires the urgent attention of Parliament. The expanded unemployment rate is now 41.9%.

In 2014, there were 3.4 million South Africans classified as long-term unemployed. A decade later, this figure has almost doubled to 6.1 million. This stark increase in long-term unemployment highlights a systemic failure by the current government to address the root causes of joblessness.

According to the latest census, the median age in South Africa is 28. Therefore, we should all be alarmed at unemployment between the ages of 15-34 which is higher than that of the older age groups. We need a job for every young person who is not in school, university or vocational training. We cannot have a generation of young men and women sitting at home.

The consequences of long-term unemployment extend beyond individual hardship, contributing to a cycle of poverty and inequality that hinders our collective progress as a nation.

An urgent debate will provide Members of Parliament with the opportunity to deliberate on actionable policies that can reverse the trend of rising unemployment and to hold the government accountable for its responsibilities to citizens.

Issued by Roger Solomons, BOSA Acting Spokesperson, 13 November 2024