Durban - Behind South Africa’s unemployment statistics are people who struggle to feed themselves and their families amid inflation and recession fears.
This is especially true for tertiary graduates who spent years acquiring the skills needed to enter the work place but emerged on the other side to find that opportunities are few and far in between.
According to StatsSA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), for the first quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate was 63,9 percent for youth between the ages of 15 to 24 and 42,1 percent for those aged 25 to 34.
Thembelihle Mkhize (28) is among these unemployed youths. She has been looking for a job for five years. Mkhize holds a BTech in language practise from the Tshwane University of Technology.
In the absence of jobs in her field, she has spent the last few years furthering her education in the hopes that having higher qualifications will eventually land her employment.
She is currently studying for a postgraduate diploma in the same field of study and a postgraduate certificate in education from Unisa.
“Looking for a job is a draining and overwhelming experience, especially for me as a first-born and mother, as I need a job so that I can help my family. It’s really painful, especially when you are fresh from university and think that landing a job is going to be easier as you have a qualification,” she said.
Mkhize, as a mother, is responsible not only for her daughter but also for her younger siblings, who are still in high school and rely on her to meet their needs.
Without any support, she said she has sleepless nights spent pondering job prospects, applications, interviews, and how she will feed her loved ones.
“Mentally, I am not okay at all, especially now as we have to build a new home for my mother because we are moving where we used to live.”
She has worked part-time jobs here and there to earn money and said her worst one was when she was working in a shisanyama as a night-time cleaner.
“I am not saying it was the worst because it was a cleaning job, but because of the pain that I went through having to leave my five-month-old daughter with her father.”
Mkhize said any job is okay as long as she is able to put food on the table, send her child to school, and pay bills.
Sibusiso Mkhonto, 25, has been in the same boat, albeit for a shorter period. He holds a diploma in accountancy from the University of Johannesburg and has been unemployed for six months.
Mkhonto said months go by without being called for interviews, and he just receives constant rejection emails. Despite this, he has a plan for his future.
"I would like to become a chartered financial analyst, but first, I need to add an advanced diploma in accounting to the equivalent of a BCom. Afterwards, I will write three board exams, get some experience, and get a CFA licence, "he said.
Stats SA said although the graduate unemployment rate remains relatively low in South Africa compared to those of other educational levels, unemployment among the youth continues to be a burden, irrespective of educational attainment.
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