Tackling South Africa's youth unemployment: causes, effects, and solutions

Youth unemployment is one of the most pressing issues in South Africa and it remains persistent ever since the transition to democracy in 1994.

The challenge remains unabated and is likely to cause social instability, despite several policy interventions and government initiatives aimed at addressing it. Several reasons including economic stagnation, poor governance, lack of opportunities and corruption among others are attributed to this challenge.

This undertaking articulates the nature of unemployment among the youth in South Africa, the underlying causes of this challenge, and the proposed strategies to address it thereof.

Youth unemployment in South Africa: A general perspective

To begin with, the United Nations joint program on HIV/Aids stipulates that the elevated level of unemployment among youth in South Africa is one of the structural barriers that directly impact on the risk of HIV infection and the support available to people living with HIV.

Further, Stephen Mago underscores that unemployment in South Africa poses a serious challenge to the youth today, leading many to engage in criminal activities, others get pregnancies due to idleness and lack of economic opportunities.

According to Statistics South Africa, “In 2010, youth unemployment rate in six of the nine provinces was over 40,0% in provinces such as Eastern Cape (40,3%), Free State (40,5%) and Mpumalanga (41,1%)”. In addition, the following year also saw an increase in youth unemployment rates in six of the nine provinces of South Africa.

On the other hand, the National Treasury indicated that, “the situation regarding youth unemployment is even worse with just 24% of young people participating in the labour market”.

More recently, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 was 62.4 % in the first quarter of 2025.

For youth aged 25 to 34 the unemployment rate in the first quarter was 40%. The unemployment rate for the entire youth cohort (aged 15-34) reached 46.1% in the first quarter of 2025.

As of the second quarter of 2025, the official unemployment rate for all ages was 33.2%, with youth unemployment remaining extremely high. It is now that the causes of youth unemployment are worth examining.

Lack of skills/Skills mismatch

Recent scholarship stipulates that youth often lack simple skills related to communication, maturity, and personal presentation. Most of these youths are not well educated and some of them are school dropouts because of reasons such as poverty and inability to cope with studies. Since the economy is now demanding skilled labour due to capital deepening and technological advancement, an incomplete secondary education is insufficient to guarantee employment.

Recent scholarship also underscores that although most of the youth pursue their studies to tertiary education, graduates from disciplines such as humanities and arts are less likely to find employment compared with those from disciplines like engineering and medical science.

Evidently, the National Research Foundation in South Africa in 2022 found that most of the youth often complete school without attaining basic skills employers require such as adequate literacy, numeracy, communication, or work-readiness skills.

Another review states that “vertical skills mismatch” where qualifications do not match job requirements is a major contributor to youth unemployment in South Africa; many young people progress through schooling without gaining sufficient competence to satisfy labour-market demands.

Economic Stagnation and Lack of Opportunities

Economic stagnation and lack of opportunities present a further major cause of unemployment in South Africa. Empirical studies confirm that when economic growth slows and investment is weak, labour-markets fail to absorb the new entrants and existing unemployed.

For instance, Mbongeni Ngubane in 2023, shows that in South Africa slow growth, persistently high unemployment and rising poverty are interconnected. Furthermore, a recent report highlights that South Africa’s growth over the past decade has averaged only around 0.7% annually, leaving real per capita income at 2007 levels; the World Bank identifies governance weaknesses, infrastructure bottlenecks and limited competition as factors constraining the economy (World Bank, 2024). When job creation is limited by stagnant or declining sectors, and when new investment is minimal, the pool of unemployed grows to both the educated and the uneducated.

Corruption

Corruption is also a major hindrance to employment in South Africa as it diverts public resources away from productive investment as well as undermines trust in institutions essential for economic growth. For example, the trade-union coalition Cosatu emphasises that corruption in South Africa “leads to more job losses, more poverty and more unemployment.”

Empirical research also demonstrates a positive and significant relationship between higher corruption perceptions and increased youth unemployment in Southern Africa, with corruption exerting its influence indirectly via hampered growth and weaker labour-market absorption.

Moreover, corruption in key state-owned enterprises and in procurement, for example in the health and infrastructure spheres reduces the effectiveness of public spending, limits the emergence of new firms or expansion of existing firms thus discouraging investment.

Poor Governance

Poor governance, epitomised by inefficient administration, ineffective service delivery and weak accountability is a significant barrier to employment in South Africa. Studies show that governance failures reduce the state’s capacity to provide enabling infrastructure, ensure a stable regulatory environment, and maintain public services all of which are vital for firms to hire and invest.

For instance, Xolani Thusi and Martinus Selepe find that lack of accountability in local public administration has a negative impact on service delivery and disproportionately affects marginalised populations, thus reducing the institutional foundation for labour-market participation. In a broader frame, the research programme by Institute for Security Studies (2022) notes that “unemployment, inequality and poverty continue to drive social turbulence in South Africa” and that corruption, poor governance, and lack-lustre leadership aggravate the labour-market exclusion.

Therefore, it is sufficient to say that when governance is weak, public investment in education, infrastructure, and enterprise support tends to be misaligned or inefficient contributing to fewer jobs being created and greater exclusion of vulnerable groups.

Way forward

•Enhance transparency and accountability in public institutions through stronger enforcement of anti-corruption laws and effective monitoring mechanisms.

•Promoting economic growth and diversification through promoting investment, supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and implementing inclusive industrial policies that promote local content production and value addition rather than raw material exportation.

•Enhancing education and skills development to align with labour market needs as well as promoting entrepreneurship.

•Creating employment opportunities for youth through internship, apprentices, and public works programmes.

•Strengthening economic governance and policy implementation to build investor confidence and long-term economic planning.

•Addressing structural inequalities through providing access to land and resources, promoting gender equality and enhancing social protection systems to cushion vulnerable groups while they seek sustainable employment.

(Sonjica is an ANC member in ward 13 in Mtubatuba sub-region. He writes in his personal capacity. His views don't necessarily reflect those of the Sunday Tribune or IOL)