Mass unemployment happens by design, not by accident
17 January 2023
It is criminal for the state to embargo voluntary employment contracts between long term unemployed applicants and employers.
Strange things happen in this mysterious world of ours and nothing is stranger than the mass unemployment we have in South Africa. n a normal economy, in which people decide for themselves for whom to work or not work, or who to employ or not employ, people seem to sort things out spontaneously among themselves.
In SA, for every three existing jobs, one more will have to be added if today’s unemployed are to be absorbed into the labour force. What is the best way to bring this about? Adding extra people onto the government payroll does not create jobs. It destroys them. Government has no resources of its own out of which to pay wages. Every cent that government pays out, including all the wages it pays, it first takes from private individuals and their firms in taxes, which diminishes the resources available to them to invest, grow the economy, and in the process, increase the demand for labour.
Some people find employers and others find employees, all on their own. Happily, if they cannot find the jobs or employees they want, there are lots of friendly people out there who, for a fee, will help them find better options. Without any official help, or more precisely, especially without official help, everyone would do just fine. Imagine if the 7.3 million currently unemployed people could go around offering their services without the inhibiting labour laws coming between them and prospective employers. Think what very modest earnings of R1,500 per month each could mean to the currently jobless and their families. An amount that would quickly grow if they worked hard and gained experience on the job.