ANC can't stem the bleeding

The next five years of ANC rule will not bring a permanent solution to the crippling scourge of youth joblessness, economists believe.

The ruling party, widely expected to remain in government after this year's general election, says it is preparing to deliver six million "work opportunities" - as opposed to jobs - most of them for desperate, unemployed young South Africans.

A survey yesterday showed that last year well over 100000 formal sector jobs were lost.

"Since January 2013, the informal sector has generated 73799 jobs, compared with a total decline of 241536 permanent and temporary jobs," said labour economist Loane Sharp after the release of Adcorp's employment index.

President Jacob Zuma's pledge in 2009 to create 500000 jobs in his first year in office came not even close to being fulfilled, Sharp said.

He said the number of unemployed or discouraged work-seekers now stood at a "staggering" 8.6million.

To create enough permanent jobs to absorb all the school-leavers in the labour market the economy would have to grow at twice the current rate, Sharp said.

Zuma made his latest undertaking about jobs - to be effected through the government's Expanded Public Works Programme - on Saturday at the launch of the party's election manifesto in Mpumalanga. He said most of the work opportunities would be reserved for young people.

Statistics SA's quarterly labour force survey, released in October, found that 3.3million of 10.4million people aged between 15 and 24 were unemployed and were unable to access training opportunities.

"Work opportunities" and "job opportunities" are phrases increasingly used in government rhetoric. Some interpret the terms as implying that the opportunities to be created would be temporary.

The latest measure to absorb young people into the mainstream economy follows the adoption of the Employment Tax Incentive Act, which offers tax breaks to companies employing young people.

The government has signed numerous accords intended to increase youth employment, including the basic education accord, national skills accord, local procurement accord, green economy accord and the October 2012 accord.

Another five million jobs were promised, first by 2020 and then by 2030, as part of the National Development Plan.

Analysts Somadoda Fikeni and Andrew Levy agreed that any type of employment was "better than nothing".

"I guess, in a situation like ours, anything is better than nothing. Anyone would be saying 'Let's accept any movement in [unemployment]'. That is crucial in our economy, which is battling to create decent jobs," Fikeni said.

"Anything that can be used to prevent [ unemployment] is worth trying. The more youths feel they are being excluded, imagine the reaction that will be there."

Levy was of the view that Zuma's "work opportunities" had the potential to become permanent.

"Any job is good.

"That will do a lot to alleviate unemployment."