Research shows more than 4 million people are unemployed in SA

Imogen Vollenhoven
30 January 2013

One in four unemployed people have been without work for more than five years in South Africa.

That's according to a study by the South African Institute of Race Relations.

The survey shows that over four million people are unemployed of which three million of them have been unemployed for one year and about 1.2 million have been unemployed for five years.

 

The Institute's Lucy Holborn says they also got a group of people that they call discouraged work seekers.

 

Lucy Holbron explains that they have noted how long that people were unemployed and in South Africa over a quarter of the people who are unemployed have been unemployed for more than five years.

Holbron adds that this would be defined as really extreme and a long time of unemployment, the international definition of long time unemployment only sees someone being unemployed for just over a year.

Furthermore Holbron said the fact that South Africa has such a high rate of unemployment and people without work for so long and it is of major concern.

Holbron also said that it just so happens that those unemployed people don’t have the skills required to participate in the country’s economy and labour market.