Cape Town – The Save South Africa Civic Movement is advocating for the removal of the age limit for entry-level government jobs and police recruitment to tackle rising unemployment.
The movement argues that the current age cap of 35 unfairly excludes capable individuals and contributes to higher crime rates.
Speaking to SABC News, the Movement’s Campaigns and Communications Director, Tebogo Mashilompane said that people over 35 often struggle to secure funding for businesses or find employment, leaving them with few options to support their families. This lack of opportunities increases the likelihood of turning to crime.
“When they go to business, they cannot get funding especially when they are over 35. There is no funding for them so what will they do? They can’t be employed, they can’t get funding, what are other alternatives?,” she said.
South Africa’s jobless rate rose to a near record in the second quarter of 2024, continuing a trend that has seen the number of unemployed people grow by more than 60 percent in ten years, official data showed last week.
The unemployment rate hit 33.5 percent between April and June, up by 0.6 percentage point from the previous quarter, national statistics agency StatsSA said.
🧵 South Africa’s official #unemployment rate increased by 0,6 of a percentage point to 33,5 % in Q2:2024 compared to Q1:2024.
Read more here: https://t.co/Migk1JcPxG
#StatsSA pic.twitter.com/7gMUcPHxk6— Stats SA (@StatsSA) August 13, 2024
That is close to the record 35.3 percent reached in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.
About 8.4 million people were out of work, up from 5.2 million in 2014, it said.
Including people who have given up looking for work, the jobless rate was a staggering 42.6 percent, up from 41.9 percent in the first quarter, StatsSA added.
Some 8.4 million people are now unemployed in South Africa – from 5.2 million a decade ago as unemployment rate increased from 32.9% in the first quarter of this year to 33.5% in the second quarter. The expanded unemployment rate – which includes discouraged work-seekers who have…
— Ndzavi Derrick .CBA (@NdzaviDerrick) August 13, 2024
The number of people working in the formal sector was down but informal sector employment was up by 100,000 or 3.3 percent over the same period last year, it added.
The new figures were the first to be released since elections in May brought in a new coalition government that has put boosting the country’s sluggish economy top of the agenda.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Pexels
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
