unemployment

Small Business Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu, has warned that people will rise up if there is no change in the levels of inequality, unemployment and poverty in South Africa.

Speaking at the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry conference in Johannesburg, Zulu pointed out that, "When the people that have been struggling for many, many years find that the gap between the poor and the rich keeps on expanding, one day they will get up and say enough is enough…”

Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change has recently described Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate of 85 percent as a ticking time bomb.
 
In its 2013 election manifesto, President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party claimed unemployment levels stood at 60 percent.
 

At the 23rd African Union (AU) Summit, the chairperson of the AU, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, encouraged the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) to modernise farming as a means of attracting young women and men into the agricultural sector.

Since its evolution from Organisation for African Unity to AU in 2000, the organisation has been battling with the impact of global financial crises threatening its vision of integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.

South Africans want President Jacob Zuma to focus on job creation in his State of the Nation Address.

According to a survey conducted by Ipsos, 90 percent of respondents believe unemployment is serious and need to be dealt with urgently.

Sixty-one percent of the people questioned felt the government is not doing well in reducing unemployment by creating jobs, while 61 percent of the people feel the government is not doing well in reducing unemployment by creating jobs.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says a weak recovery from the 2008 global economic downturn has curtailed job growth around the world.

The Geneva-based agency says that nearly 202 million workers were unemployed in 2013, up five million from the year before.

It further says youth unemployment is a particular problem, with more than 74 million people aged 15 to 24 out of work in 2013, adding that the youth employment rate is more than 13 percent, more than twice the overall global jobless rate.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risk 2014 report, South Africa has the third highest unemployment rate in the world for people between the ages of 15 to 24.
 
The report, which estimates that more than 50 percent of young South Africans between 15 and 24 are unemployed, found that only Greece and Spain have higher unemployment in this age range than South Africa.
 
"At the same time the rising cost of higher education has left a generation with unpayable debt and little chance of finding a job," it states.
 

Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, says even though the government is trying everything in its power to create jobs, it is impossible for government to employ everyone.
 
Speaking at the Forum, the minister urged all South African citizens to work together in improving the state of the country’s economy, he further encouraged people to start their own businesses.
 
He denies any suggestions that his tough measures against ministers’ wasteful expenditure has got anything to do with the upcoming 2014 national elections.
 

Youth unemployment, entrepreneurship and HIV/AIDs dominated discussions at the One Young World conference which took place from the 2-5 October 2013 in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Barclays Bank chief executive officer Anthony Jenkins, says the world faces a lot of challenges and that businesses and politicians should come up with best practices to help society.  Jenkins added … “the youth will have to be brave and tackle unemployment, but responsibility cannot only be left to them.”