Monday, 15 June 2015

Causes For Youth Unemployment In South Africa

By Elaine Guthrie


Youth unemployment is at an all-time high even fresh graduates are finding it hard to secure and entry-level job. This is due to several factors that need addressing. It is better this problem is address now as the figure are continuously rising. Below are reasons why there is high youth unemployment in South Africa.

Most factories and industries are set up in urban places and most job openings are found in the city. A large population of the people live outside from the city thus accessing their job areas is hard. They shy away from work, as they will spend more than a quarter of the salary commuting between their homes and the place of work.

Geographical location is another cause. Many people live far away from cities where there are high job openings. The reason for that is that renting a house in the city is very expensive. This means if someone got a job in the city, it will be hard to get to the job, as there is not cheap public means of transportation.

Poverty has led to hopelessness among the youth. This is because the meager pay they earn plus they parents cannot sustain them in school. Therefore, they only settle for mining and other low paying jobs. They become discouraged and start weird behaviors. Such a person cannot be employed even if a job opportunity presented itself. The course in the university and colleges are also beyond reach of the ordinary citizen.

The country has a vibrant mining sector and several under developed sectors. The reason for underdevelopment is due to lack of skilled workers to work in an industry. For example, the agricultural industry is a major employer. If people had the right mindset and training, they would work in this sector. However, since there are only a few, the many offer less quality of work than expected.

Social and cultural factors are also to blame for the high number of youth unemployment. It is a fact that unemployment is huge only among the youth, the reason for this is because there is pessimism over securing a job. Also along history of broken families, drug abuse and crime has locked out the youth. Youths who engage in the above vices cannot hold a job even if they got one.

The other cause of joblessness is the economy of the country. The economy may be growing but at a very low rate. This means investors shy away from investing in the country due to economic factors such as tax, land availability and the rules and regulations. If the investors started companies in this country, they would be major employers, as they would need both skilled and semi-skilled workers. Thus there is need to improve the economy to solve issues in this country.

Joblessness is common in every country in the world especially among the youth. The negative effects of unemployment are vices such as crime, drug use, and prostitution among others. The country should move to solve the situation as there as the effects are already severe. Proper training, lowering the inflation rate and making education accessible to all will solve the lack of employment.




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