{"id":810571,"date":"2025-02-07T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=810571"},"modified":"2025-02-07T14:30:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T12:30:31","slug":"south-africas-ticking-time-bomb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/810571\/south-africas-ticking-time-bomb\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa’s ‘ticking time bomb’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa\u2019s unemployment crisis is a “ticking time bomb” threatening economic stability and political trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a queue so long that its start was out of sight, Maleshwane Lethaba stood among thousands of young South Africans hoping for a chance at work. At 23, she had spent more than two years searching for a job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, she waited hours in Johannesburg to apply for one of 500 apprenticeships at Cartrack, a vehicle security company that received over 7,000 applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have tried countless times. It would mean everything for me to get this job,\u201d said Lethaba. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunshine Morweng, who graduated from university with a degree in accounting science, joined Lethaba in the queue for a job in a totally unrelated field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine how many are still sitting at home and haven\u2019t heard of this or can\u2019t get here. It\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lethaba and Morweng\u2019s struggle is one that millions of South Africans share in a country battling one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an overall unemployment rate of 32.1% and an alarming 60.2% among those aged 15 to 24, the scale of joblessness is among the worst in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts warn that unless drastic action is taken, the consequences could be dire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The economy has struggled to create sufficient employment opportunities, adding only 526,000 jobs between 2019 and 2024 while 1.8 million new job seekers entered the labour market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This gap between job creation and demand has left millions of South Africans without a source of income, eroding confidence in both the economy and the political system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa\u2019s sluggish economic growth\u2014averaging below 1% annually over the past decade\u2014has been a key contributor to this crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Bank has projected a 1.8% growth rate in 2025, an improvement over previous estimates but still far below the 3% needed to make a meaningful dent in unemployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ticking time bomb<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Without stronger economic expansion, job opportunities will remain scarce, and frustration among the unemployed will continue to build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the numbers, the social consequences of joblessness are severe. High unemployment rates are strongly linked to increased crime, social unrest, and political instability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa has already witnessed the effects of economic despair, with the 2021 riots and looting serving as a stark warning of what could happen if the crisis deepens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prolonged unemployment weakens the social fabric and fosters resentment, particularly among young people who see little hope for a better future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa\u2019s high level of joblessness is a \u201cticking time bomb,\u201d <\/strong>said Keabetswe Mojapelo, a macroeconomist at Rand Merchant Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving so many people unemployed over a long period does have an adverse impact on not just the economy, but social cohesion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts caution that South Africa risks creating a “lost generation” of young people who fail to gain the skills and experience necessary for long-term employment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With half of the country\u2019s working-age population under 35 and only six million of them employed, the economic exclusion of youth could have lasting consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned that persistently high youth unemployment can lead to long-term structural damage, making it even harder to create jobs in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government of National Unity (GNU), formed after the African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority for the first time since 1994, has prioritised economic growth and job creation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, many remain sceptical of its ability to turn the situation around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years of unfulfilled promises have left South Africans disillusioned, with each new pledge for job creation met with increasing doubt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to deliver the national budget on 19 February, a key moment when the GNU must outline concrete policies to stimulate economic growth and employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the GNU fails to address joblessness effectively, voter frustration could drive increased support for populist opposition parties, further destabilising the country\u2019s political landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With municipal elections on the horizon in 2026, the upcoming years will be crucial in determining whether the government can regain public trust by delivering tangible economic improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reported with Bloomberg<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa faces a crisis that is described as a “ticking time bomb” by a macroeconomist at Rand Merchant Bank.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":753395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1850,853,1809,3651],"class_list":["post-810571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-bloomberg","tag-south-africa","tag-stats-sa","tag-unemployment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810571"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":810846,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810571\/revisions\/810846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}