JOHANNESBURG - Approximately eight million people were officially unemployed in South Africa in the third quarter of 2025, representing an official unemployment rate of 31.9 percent, according to Statistics South Africa.
Youth unemployment among 15- to 24-year-olds stood at 62.4 percent in the first quarter of 2025.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa said during his Thursday night State of the Nation Address that the government has created over 2.5 million opportunities through the Presidential Employment Stimulus, more still needs to be done to decrease unemployment.
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Over R10.98-billion has been allocated to Labour Activation Programmes for the 2025-26 year, aiming for 240,000 job placements, with a long-term target of 690,000.
But Marc Lubner, CEO of the Afrika Tikkun Group, says “throwing money” at the problem will not fix it.
“Sure, we need a budget, but the issue that is concerning is how the funds are utilised and deployed,” he says.
Lubner adds that it is disappointing the crisis of youth unemployment is still being looked at in isolation.
“It’s not on education alone. It needs an integrated approach, recognising that a child grows up in an environment where there are a series of resource lacks from both social and physical infrastructure. We need to look at the linkage.”
In his address, Ramaphosa said the government would introduce regulatory changes to make it easier for businesses to participate in the youth employment service.
“In the coming year, we will expand our public employment programmes, including the Community Works Programme, EPWP and the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
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“We will ensure they are better coordinated efforts to provide income support, skills development and pathways into longer-term work, particularly for young people and women,” Ramaphosa said.
But Lubner cautions that while creating skills training opportunities is important, it is equally critical to ensure individuals entering these programmes are well prepared.
“You can’t take an 18-year-old out of school and anticipate that they’re going to move into the work environment with the necessary social skills. One must look at a holistic approach; you have to have fundamentals taught at an early age.”