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ActionSA expresses concern that the unemployment crisis in South Africa continues to worsen, as evidenced by the latest quarterly employment statistics released by Stats SA, revealing a quarter-on-quarter decrease in employment of 67,000 jobs or -0.6%, from 10,731,000 in December 2023 to 10,664,000 in March 2024.

The simple fact is that South Africa’s economy is simply not growing and as such is unable to create jobs. A critical contributing factor of this economic standstill is the poor political leadership, whose mismanagement has deprived both the country and its people of economic opportunities.

ActionSA has long viewed policy uncertainty, restrictive labour laws, poor fiscal management, lack of adherence to the rule of law, and bureaucratic overreach as symptoms of poor leadership, and more importantly, as the defining features of our declining economic status. Unsurprisingly, considering these suffocating factors, the main industries impacted in the latest quarterly employment statistics released by Stats SA were trade, community services, business services, and mining.

It is universally acknowledged that employment provides people with dignity, and as Martin Luther King Jr. described, unemployment is tantamount to psychological murder, as it robs individuals of their agency, hopes, dreams, and the ability to provide for themselves and their families. Based on the latest unemployment figures, more than 10 million South Africans are being psychologically murdered.

In recognition of this crisis, getting the economy growing and addressing the unemployment crisis must be one of the first tasks that the 7th Parliament undertakes. By every objective measure, previous government and parliamentary administrations have failed in this regard, and it is vital that the new 7th Parliament prioritises and delivers on a growing economy that creates meaningful employment. 

Through an expert-led process, ActionSA has developed economic policies that are both pragmatic and implementable, capable of driving significant economic growth. Thus, through Parliament and the various economic committees in which ActionSA will participate, we will ensure that these policies are considered.

ActionSA believes that every South African deserves to secure decent, gainful employment and will therefore ensure that, at every opportunity, the voices of the unemployed are not once again lost in Parliament.

Issued by ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesly