Risenga Maluleke, the country’s statistician-general, has faulted the country’s legislation for the inclusion of 15-year-olds in Statistics South Africa’s Labour Force Survey, which documents unemployment statistics in the country.
In the first quarter of this year, South Africa’s unemployment rate fell by 0.8 percent to 34.5 percent, down from 35.3 percent in the third quarter of last year.
Maluleke claims that the law on 15-year-olds is clear.
“We don’t set the rules at Stats SA; the law is clear: section 43,1(a) of the Basic Conditions of Employment in South Africa states that it is illegal to hire anyone under the age of 15, 14 years or younger.”
So it means when you are 15-years-old and above it’s not illegal in South Africa. Now, we include them, only when they are not at school.”
Below is the full interview with Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke:
SA still faces unemployment crisis
Meanwhile, mining and labour analyst Mamokgethi Molopyane says while there have been some green shoots in labour market activity, South Africa still faces an unemployment crisis.
Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey indicates that 370 000 jobs were gained between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
Youth unemployment on the rise among those with post-matric qualifications