TODAY OUR GUEST IS FARAI MUBAIWA, YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SERVICE PARTNER MANAGEMENT LEAD. the latest unemployment figures from Statistics SA show that the unemployment rate in SA is still climbing and that according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey has reached the highest level since the introduction of the survey in 2008.
The official unemployment rate increased to 32.6% in the first quarter of 2021, while the unemployment rate based on the expanded definition of unemployment increased to 42.3%, meaning nearly half of all citizens of working age in SA are unemployed.
The figures show that the problem is getting bigger as SA’s largely young population reaches working age, with few new job opportunities.
According to the survey, SA’s population of people aged between 15 and 65 has increased by around 600 000 people in the past year, to 39.46 million. 
More than 17.2 million are classified as not economically active, with most still at school or attending an institution of tertiary education.
Meanwhile, the number of job opportunities in the formal, informal and agricultural sectors, as well as within households, decreased by more than one million compared to a year ago.
The figures also have racial and gender undertones, with black women the most likely to be unemployed at 38.5%, followed by black men ay 34.9%.