South Africa’s richest province needs to create 5,400 jobs every day to eliminate unemployment
Gauteng premier David Makhura says that the country’s wealthiest and most densely populated province needs to create 5,400 jobs every day to eliminate unemployment.
Delivering his ‘Fourth Political Report’ on Thursday, Makhura said the Gauteng economy grew by 1.3% in 2016, down from the 2014 growth rate of around 2.2%. “Although the Gauteng economy performed better in quarter two of 2017, than in the first quarter, the overall provincial economic growth trend is downward,” he said.
“Our employment numbers are also a cause for concern – we continue to shed jobs. Year-on-year our job numbers remained unchanged and generally the unemployment trend in our province is upward.
“To eliminate unemployment in Gauteng, we need to create 5,400 jobs per day and to halve unemployment, we need to create 2,700 jobs per day,” Makhura said.
South Africa’s unemployment rate came in at 27.7% in the third quarter of 2017, and remains at the highest rate in 13 years. According to StatsSA, the figure in Gauteng, the rate is above 29%.
Makhura said that increasing intra-Africa trade is a key element of how the province can escape the current slow growth trap. “In addition, we need better leadership of our efforts to create structural transformations and inclusive growth.”
The premier said that with regard to intra-Africa trade, Gauteng is the leader. By August 2017, Gauteng companies invested 169 projects worth R356 billion across the continent. Gauteng accounts for 71% of South Africa investment into the different regions of Africa. Intra-Africa trade generated a total of 46,732 jobs to the Gauteng economy, Makhura said.
“Trade between Gauteng and the rest of our continent strengthened by 19% between 2011 and 2016, from R204 billion in 2011 to R242 billion in 2016. On the other hand Gauteng’s imports from the rest if the continent increased by 28%, faster than exports which increased by 16%. On the other hand Gauteng’s imports from the rest of the continent increased by 28%,” the premier said.
Makhura said the ICT industry, the knowledge economy and creative industries hold the greatest prospects for youth employment. “The work we are doing in the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) sector has already created 6,000 new jobs this year.
“Going forward we have committed ourselves as well as our partners to work towards the creation of 24 000 new jobs over the next thirty-six months – 20% of these jobs will be for the exclusive inclusion of young people who have never worked before,” Makhura said
Read: Four tables that show South Africa’s employment problem in each province
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