Cosatu describes SA’s unemployment rate as ‘alarming’

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has described South Africa's unemployment rate as "alarming." The labour federation's reaction comes after the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey revealed the official unemployment rate has surged to 33.6%. This data indicates an additional 345,000 individuals are unemployed.

Cosatu's Parliamentary Coordinator, Matthew Parks, emphasizes that these figures are more than just numbers; they represent a crisis. Parks asserts that for too long, the normalization of this situation has been accepted. He points out that the unemployment crisis has been steadily increasing over the past decade and has doubled within the last two decades.

The situation is particularly dire for young people, with an unemployment rate exceeding 62%. Parks states, "You have 12 million people who simply cannot find work. Approximately five million of them are young people. This creates a real crisis for them. We're in danger of creating a permanent class of unemployed individuals."

While the increase in unemployment is not unexpected, Parks argues that the government should not normalize this crisis. The decrease in employment has put additional strain on those who are still working due to the large number of people relying on a single source of income. Parks highlights that this also creates a crisis for the 17 million employed individuals, as their wages are stretched thin trying to support their unemployed relatives.

Parks attributes part of the crisis to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, as well as the significant rise in international oil prices. He notes that South Africa has experienced a 25% increase in petrol prices and a 50% increase in diesel prices. However, he stresses that ignoring this crisis is no longer an option. Parks concludes, "We can't continue to ignore this crisis."