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Gauteng, W Cape lead on youth employment

Pretoria - The youth unemployment rate increased by the largest amount in Northern Cape (11.3 percentage points) and North West (8.8 percentage points) from 2008 to 2015, according to a report released by Statistics SA on Monday.

Among adults the increases were smaller, at 8.4 percentage points in Northern Cape and 4.5 percentage points in North West.

Limpopo stood out as the province in which the unemployment rate was among the lowest for youth and adults. It was also the only province in which the unemployment rate declined. Stats SA, however, cautioned that this outcome in Limpopo has to be viewed in the context of a shift into discouragement among workers – young and old – who gave up hope of finding employment and exited the labour force altogether.

The capacity of Limpopo to provide young people with jobs is the lowest of all the provinces.

The report found that in every province the percentage of the working-age population that have jobs - the so-called absorption rate - is substantially lower among youth compared to adults.

Compared to the other provinces, the rate in Gauteng and Western Cape is higher among both youth and adults. This reflects the better employment opportunities that are available in these provinces.

Over the period 2008 to 2011, the rate among youth declined for three successive years in provinces such as the Western Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Gauteng.

Stats SA pointed out that a lack of employment opportunities may trigger violence and juvenile delinquency.

Compared to youth, adult absorption rates declined by a smaller amount over the period, with the largest declines in Gauteng and Free State.

Discouraged work-seekers

The report found that the number of discouraged work-seekers is more of a problem among women than among men.

Over the period 2008 to 2015, the number of discouraged work-seekers rose by 1.2 million of which 594 000 were men and 600 000 were women. Young men and women together accounted for the bulk of the increase in 2010 and 2011.

As a proportion of the working-age population, young women are the most likely to become discouraged.

In the aftermath of the recession, in both 2012 and 2013, almost one in every ten (9.1%) working-age young women had become discouraged and had given up hope of finding employment.

Compared to the other population groups, over the period 2008 to 2015, a larger proportion of working-age black African adults and youth were discouraged.

Trade industry

The trade industry is the major source of employment for youth, accounting for 23.3% of their employment in 2015, according to the report.

As a result of the recession, the share of that industry declined by the largest amount over the period 2008 to 2015. The manufacturing industry suffered the second highest job losses among youth over the period.

The community and social services industry is the second most important source of jobs among youth.

Among young people, managers, sales personnel and elementary workers were the only occupations in which employment increased over the period 2008 to 2015. Job losses among youth over the period were the most acute among craft workers and professionals.

At national level, the vast majority of employed youth have either semi-skilled (53.1% in 2015) or low-skilled occupations (29.2% in 2015). A relatively small proportion has skilled positions (17.7%).

Compared with the other provinces, in 2015, a higher proportion of employed youth in Gauteng (25.3%) and Western Cape (20.2%) had skilled positions, while the lowest proportions with such positions occurred in Limpopo (10.6%) and North West (11%).

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