South Africa Intensifies Youth Employment Drive Following Sharp Rise In Unemployment Rate

Delivering the Department of Employment and Labour’s Budget Vote 31 speech in Parliament on Tuesday, Meth said the intervention forms part of government’s intensified efforts to tackle the country’s worsening unemployment crisis.

“The latest Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) report reminds us of a reality that South Africa's economic recovery is not translating into jobs,” the Minister said.

South Africa’s official unemployment rate increased from 31.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 32.7% in the first quarter of 2026, with more than eight million South Africans unemployed.

Meth said youth unemployment remains one of the country’s biggest challenges.

“The crisis confronting young people between the ages of 15 and 34, is that unemployment remains critically high at nearly 46%, underscoring the urgent need for accelerated economic growth, targeted labour market interventions and large-scale youth employment opportunities.”

Government has declared 2026 as “The Year of Putting Young South Africans to Work, in Honour of the 1976 Youth and Commemoration of the Youth Uprising Golden Jubilee.”

“To deepen these interventions, R350m has been committed to the Government and Business Partnership, working with the Presidency and the National Pathway Management Network to place 130,000 young people, into learning opportunities, work exposure programmes and employment interventions,” she said.

She added that an additional R95m has been committed to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to support Youth Employment Innovation Projects aimed at placing 7,000 young people into productive economic activity.

Labour Activation Programme revamped

The Labour Activation Programme is being repositioned to better respond to South Africa’s unemployment crisis.

“The review of the Labour Activation Programme strategy, is now centred on three focused pillars aimed at improving labour market absorption, strengthening workplace experience and supporting enterprise-led job creation,” she said.

The first pillar will focus on demand-led skills development aligned with scarce and critical skills needed by the economy.

The second pillar will prioritise internships and work-integrated learning opportunities for graduates and Tvet students.

“This will include the placement of 20,000 Tvet students in work-integrated learning, chartered financial analysts, chartered accountants, professional technicians and engineers, law students and health inspectors. In addition, we will train 10,000 youth on digital skills and 10,000 for driver's licence [training],” the Minister said.

The third pillar focuses on supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through blended finance mechanisms.

Government targets 200,000 jobs

Meth said government plans to recruit 200,000 unemployed people during the current financial year through targeted labour market interventions.

“Importantly, 70% of all opportunities will be directed towards the youth, reflecting a deliberate commitment to address the plight of unemployed young people,” she said.

Over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period, government aims to support a total of 605,000 beneficiaries.

The Minister also revealed that R36.6bn has been set aside over the MTEF for the Labour Activation Programme.

“For the 2026/27 financial year, the Department of Employment and Labour has been allocated R4.578bn, representing a 10.2% increase from the previous financial year,” the Minister said.

Meth called on employers to partner with government in creating opportunities for young South Africans.

“We call on all employers to partner with us and open opportunities to place young South Africans to either complete their studies or for first time work experience, through internships,” she said.