Unemployment by age in South Africa

The chart below represents data for the first quarter of 2011 for unemployment rate in South Africa by age.
Percent of unemployed by age
Source: Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) produced by Statistics South Africa.

Youth Unemployment

The data amplifies the problem of youth unemployment highlighted by the National Planning Commission which argues that:
 

The social cost of long-term unemployment is staggering. In South Africa, if young people fail to get a job by the age of 24, they are almost never likely to get full-time formal employment. As a consequence, about 60 percent of an entire generation could live their lives without ever holding a formal job.This time bomb is the greatest risk to social stability in South Africa.

The key features of the data include that:

• The biggest proportion of unemployed are concentrated in the age groups 15-24 years (29.5%) and 25-34 years (42.8%).
• Unemployment for those 34 years old and younger is 72,3% of unemployed South Africans.

The data was first discussed on the Zapreneur Facebook Page.
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