The unemployment rate of 53% among South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 shows that young people are the worst hit by poor economic growth, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report says. The OECD released its latest report on South Africa this week.
According to statistics from the International Labor Organization, youth unemployment around the world was at 13.55% last year, compared to 52.3% in South Africa, News24 reported.
Among young men in the country, the figure is 48.3% and is 57.3% among young women.
South Africa’s general unemployment rate for the first quarter of the year was 27.7%–the highest it has been in 14 years, according to Stats South Africa.
Stats SA said that, for the group aged between 15 and 34, the unemployment rate was 38.6%.
In its report on South Africa, the OECD recommends that apprenticeship and internship programs be developed to advance job creation among young people.
In 2013, only 12% of South Africans who were studying after school completion were enrolled for vocational training.
Advocate Kobus Engelbrecht, a spokesperson for the Entrepreneur of the Year competition, sponsored by Sanlam and Business Partners, said it was becoming increasingly important for entrepreneurship and the associated skills to become part of young people’s education.
He said this training should begin at primary school level and incorporate activities such as market days and entrepreneur days. He added that the teaching of economics and business studies at high schools needed to be expanded.
