Build One South Africa (BOSA) has today written to the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ms Thoko Didiza, in terms of Rule 130 of the NA Rules to request an urgent debate of national importance in Parliament on the stubbornly high unemployment rate in South Africa.
Today the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q3:2025 was released, revealing a concerning trend in long-term unemployment, which requires the urgent attention of Parliament.. The expanded unemployment rate is now 42.4% and 11.5 million South Africans do not have a job. That is 8 million active jobseekers, and 3.5 million discouraged jobseekers, who have given up hope of finding a job.
If the GNU is unable to fix the problem, Parliament must be afforded the opportunity to do so. An urgent debate will provide Members of Parliament (MPs) with the opportunity to deliberate on actionable policies that can reverse the trend of rising unemployment and to hold the government accountable for its responsibilities to citizens.
In 2014, there were 3.4 million South Africans classified as long-term unemployed. A decade later, this figure has almost doubled to 6.1 million. This stark increase in long-term unemployment highlights a systemic failure by the current government to address the root causes of joblessness.
The consequences of long-term unemployment extend beyond individual hardship, contributing to a cycle of poverty and inequality that hinders our collective progress as a nation.
According to the latest census, the median age in South Africa is 28. Therefore, we should all be alarmed at unemployment between the ages of 15-34 which is higher than that of the older age groups. We need a job for every young person who is not in school, university or vocational training. We cannot have a generation of young men and women sitting at home.
The harsh reality is once someone struggles to find a job after school, they are likely to stay unemployed for an extended period of time.
Parliament is the people’s house. It must be given the opportunity to confront this issue head-on and craft the practical, long-overdue solutions unemployed South Africans deserve.
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons
BOSA Spokesperson
072 299 3551