By Kea Koffman, Communication and Language Services (FSCA)
Statistics from the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey paint a bleak picture of the current labour market, job availability and unemployment rates particularly for youth and the general populace. Although in any recent year unemployment figures fluctuated from quarter to quarter, there has been a steady incline from the 25.54% in 2019 to today’s 32.9% in 2023, with the sharpest increases between 2020 and 2021 from 24.34% to 28.77% respectively. Between 2022 and the current reporting quarter of 2023, the number of unemployed individuals has increased to 179 000. Only 15,9 million people were employed in 2022 compared to 16.2 million this year, whereas unemployment increased from 7.8 million to 7.9 million in 2023. This suggests a remarkable increase in employment and the slight increase in unemployment rate.
To help combat the staggering unemployment figures, the FSCA has a variety of programmes at its disposal such as the 12-month Internship Programme. This programme enables young graduates to enter into the workplace and start their careers. For most this is their first job opportunity, and for others an opportunity of a lifetime as they get to experience a sense of stability. The main purpose of the internship is to not only prepare graduates for the workplace, but also to recruit talent into permanent employees. In the period between 2021 and 2022, the FSCA achieved an intern absorption rate of 64%, which is quite impressive.
Over the past years there has been a decrease in jobs available for both graduates and those who have completed matric and looking for employment, jobs became fewer and high paying jobs even harder to find. Research shows a 0.7% decrease of students entering the labour market with work experience. The graduate unemployment rate of 10,6% is 22.3 percentage points lower than the national official unemployment rate. The Labour force participation rate increased by 0,9 of a percentage point from 58,5% in Q4:2022 to 59,4% in Q1:2023. The absorption rate is the percentage of the economically active population of working-age that is employed, and the difference between the two rates is currently at 19.5%. These statistics show employment increases were primarily in finance, community, and social services as well as agricultural industries. Interventions such as internships are a great opportunity for graduates to gain work experience and become equipped for the workplace by learning on the job.
The FSCA’s internship programme contributes to the ideals and goals of the National Development Plan to reduce youth unemployment. Interns are placed in different departments within the organisation and become empowered to deal with real work scenarios, preparing them for the working environment. Further to this effort, the FSCA also has an actuarial bursary programme and a disability bursary policy, each of which contribute to skills development and ultimately reducing unemployment especially among youth and graduates. South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, influenced by several socio-economic factors. With the continued focus on internship programs, organisations will not only provide valuable work experience, but also critical on-the-job skills development which can increase early career hiring. This will go a long way in decreasing unemployment in South Africa.
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