StatsSA announced this week that the national unemployment figure for the third quarter of this year sits at 27.1% - half a percentage point higher than in the previous quarter. According to the IMF , this is the worst rate South Africa has seen in 13 years. This statistic is a wake-up call. Any economy with this kind of joblessness should be focused on implementing drastic measures to stop rising unemployment and reverse the trend - especially at a time when ratings agencies have us under the microscope. Much action has been taken over the years to address this issue, yet the unemployment gap continues to widen. Each time, public and private research institutions come up with recommendations on how to address the problem. Often, these focus on what needs to be done about the big structural problems our economy faces, such as education, income disparities and skills shortages. Some stakeholders have even asked for legislative amendments, such as making the right to work a constituti...
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