Thesis (MComm (Economics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / A new political dispensation in 1994 heralded a period of optimism for many ordinary South Africans, who hoped for freedom and an escape from poverty. Since this transition, however, South Africa has registered steady increases in unemployment, which was already high and widespread at that stage. The new policy environment introduced a mix of legislation which changed the way in which South African society was to be structured: separate development was abandoned, the pillars of Apartheid dismantled, and equitable access to education and jobs was enacted. At the same time, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), as well as the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) document addressed, amongst other issues, socioeconomic and labour market disparities. Economic growth was to bolster employment generation. Rising unemployment is, in light of these diverse changes, a source of considerable concern to labour market participants and policymakers alike: the benefits of better understanding the dynamic forces at play are potentially large. Given the many and farreaching changes referred to above, it is a complex task to disentangle specific reasons for the outcomes realised in the labour market, and more so the manner in which these have interacted to arrive at the status quo...

M. Com. (Development Economics) / In recent years unemployment has received considerable international attention from scholars, policy makers, and labour practitioners, because it has reduced economic welfare, reduced output, and eroded human capital. Researchers argue that South Africa is faced with structural unemployment because of the insufficient demand for low-skilled resources and the sufficient demand for highly skilled resources. However, in terms of highly skilled resources, young South Africans have become better educated over the last decade, resulting in a significant growth in the size of the graduate labour force. This growth emanates particularly from the fact that the majority of the graduate labour force has completed their tertiary education. Despite this growth, graduate unemployment appears to be rising along with the overall unemployment rate. The aim of this study is to sensitise policy authorities to the impact of graduate unemployment on the economy by highlighting the perceived causes of graduate unemployment in South Africa’s banking sector. The research was conducted with the aid of a survey administered to two groups, namely a graduate group and a human resource (HR) manager group. The result derived from the research shows that the quality of tertiary institutions which relates to educational standards and culture, the quality of education, high expectations, a shortage of skills, a lack of work experience, and a lengthy process of application and job search are perceived to be the possible causes of graduate unemployment in South Africa. The study makes several tentative recommendations relating to what can possibly be done to reduce graduate unemployment. Among the recommendations proposed are the improvement of the quality of education and institutions, a well-planned career guidance mechanism, and a graduate recruitment subsidy.

M.Phil. (Labour Law and Employment Relations) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Unemployment in South Africa has continued to be consistently high as indicated by the various reports published by Statistics South Africa. Unemployment is a global problem where in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries it is related to economic condition. The economic conditions are not solely responsible for the problem of unemployment in South Africa. Consistently high unemployment rates are observed irrespective of the level of economic growth, where unemployment responds marginally to changes Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To understand factors that influence unemployment in South Africa, we need to understand the dynamics of the unemployed population. This study aims at providing a statistical tool useful in improving the understanding of the labour market and enhancing of the labour market policy relevancy. Survival techniques are applied to determine duration dependence, probabilities of exiting unemployment, and the association between socio-demographic factors and unemployment duration. A labour force panel data from Statistic South Africa is used to analyse the time it takes an unemployed person to find employment. The dataset has 4.9 million people who were unemployed during the third quarter of 2013. The data is analysed by computing non-parametric and semi-parametric estimates to avoid making assumption about the functional form of the hazard. The results indicate that the hazard of finding employment is reduced as people spend more time in unemployment (negative duration dependence). People who are unemployed for less than six months have higher hazard functions. The hazards of leaving unemployment at any given duration are significantly lower for people in the following categories - females, adults, education level of lower than tertiary, single or divorced, attending school or doing other activities prior to job search and no work experience. The findings suggest an existence of association between demographics and the length of stay in unemployment; which reflect the nature of the labour market. Due to lower exit probabilities young people spent more time unemployed thus growing out of the age group which is more likely to be employed. Seasonal jobs are not convenient for pregnant women and for those with young kids at their care thus decreasing their employment probabilities. Analysis of factors that affect employment probabilities should be based on datasets which have no seasonal components. The findings suggest that the seasonal components on the labour force panel impacted on the results. According to the findings analysis of unemployment durations can be improved by analysing men and women separately. Men and women have different challenges in the labour market, which influence the association between other demographic factors and unemployment duration / Statistics / M. Sc. (Statistics)

M.A. / Urbanization is a common feature worldwide and is even more prevalent in modern societies. This has brought tremendous changes to all known social structures. Third world countries, including South Africa, usually lack the capacity to effectively accommodate the influx from rural areas. A shortage of houses is the main reason for informal settlements being erected on the outskirts of these cities. Informal settlements are expanding almost daily. This can either be contributed to the insufficient infrastructures provided by third world cities or the influx of people from surrounding areas. There is a definite difference between the problems experienced by people living within the formal and informal parts of a city. The different type of problems experience by people living in different type of settlements has a direct influence on the survival of households in different settlements. Although previous studies have been conducted to determine the household structures in informal settlements, none have helped to give an understanding of the survival methods used by these settlements. Knowledge of their survival methods is needed to help support and develop these settlements. This study is therefore aimed at determining how these mostly unemployed and homeless people survive, considering their limited resources. A qualitative study was conducted, in the form of unstructured interviews, with the heads of twenty one households in Mandela informal settlement near Daveyton. Only twenty of the interviews were used for the purpose of this study. The main areas of investigation were: the biographical information of the households to determine whether different survival skills are used by certain household types, means to earn an income, the problems experienced with domestic services, and how different households solve these problems. In this study no indication could be found that there are links between the household structure, survival methods and problem solving skills of different households in the Mandela area. The normal household structures, such as nuclear family, single- and extended households, were found in Mandela. In this sample, most nuclear families consist of between two and six family members. Amount the respondents most working members of these households are employed in the informal sector. The respondents income range from 8500.00 to 81000.00 monthly. In this study is was found that households with no income rely heavily on family and friends for support. Most households in this study have running water, electricity, removal of refuse and sewerage systems in place. Most of the respondents in this study believe that these services are commodities. Except for their complaint about the costs involved, the respondents have no problems with the services. Households in study seem to have adapted to their circumstances and cope without amenities though people living in formal settlements would not. This, however, does not mean that they do not have the need for these services. After the study was conducted to find out whether the household that were interviewed in this study, use different type of strategies to survive in Mandela the findings indicated that there are perhaps no clear-cut survival strategies between different household types. Therefore the researcher argued that, perhaps living in an informal settlement is in itself a strategy of survival. This, however, needs to be further investigated.

High levels of unemployment and skills shortages in key parts of the South African economy are well documented. The failure of the South African economy to absorb new entrants to the job market is also well documented. The paradox of an economy that was growing for over a decade during the late nineties and early 2000s creating a lot of vacancies and yet at the same time seeing ever growing levels of unemployment numbers also makes for interesting reading. Learnership programs are intended to address this situation by reducing the problem of skills shortages and leading in the human capital development that is aligned to industry needs. Thus is the purpose of this study to determine whether the beneficiaries of the learnership programs, the graduates, find benefit from having completed these learnership programs. It is to evaluate whether they find the program to have been effective in either equipping them sufficiently to improve prospects of finding permanent employment or successfully starting their own businesses. An extensive literature study of the history of the FET and its development, the concept of learnership and legislation and statutes applicable to the sector in South Africa was undertaken so that the skills development initiatives in the country are contextualised. The empirical part of the study involved a self-constructed questionnaire designed to illicit perspectives of the FET training and learnership within the FET graduate population that have completed their studies at an FET institution within Nelson Mandela Bay. The data collected indicate that a substantial majority of the sample find The data collected indicate that a substantial majority of the sample find the training to be effective and confirm the literature findings that learnerships can improve the issue of skills shortage in industry. The study makes recommendations that encompass work-based strategies and training based strategies to further improve the program. The recommendations are targeted at the FET college, the work-place training providers and the MERSETA and are meant solely to assist the organisations in overcoming the identified challenges emanating from learnership implementation.

Unemployment is one of the greatest and most complex challenges facing South Africa. Just like most developing countries, South Africa has been using the fiscal policy framework as a tool to alleviate the high rates of unemployment. This study examined the impact of fiscal policy on unemployment in South Africa. The study used annual time series data for the period 1980 to 2010. A vector error correction model was used to determine the effects of fiscal policy aggregates on unemployment in South Africa. The fiscal policy aggregates considered in this study were government investment expenditure, government consumption expenditure and tax. Results from this study revealed that government consumption expenditure and tax have a positive impact on unemployment while government investment expenditure negatively affects unemployment in South Africa. Policy recommendations were made using these results.

M.Com. (Economic Development and Policy Issues) / Monetary policy is not only the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, but is furthermore a sufficient tool to overcome the problem of economic growth and unemployment. This can take place when the policy instruments – interest rates (Repo) and money supply growth (M3) – have significant effects on these macroeconomic variables. However, the issue of the efficacy of monetary policy on GDP growth and employment creation is at the centre of debates among researchers. Some researchers are of the opinion that the objective of monetary policy in achieving and maintaining price stability is founded on the idea that inflation is not good for economic growth, employment creation and income equality but, instead, only secures macroeconomic environment. In South Africa, the efficiency of different monetary policy tools, inflation and money-supply targeting, on economic performance has been questioned. Moreover, the issue of the high level of unemployment remains controversial among scholars. Therefore, the structural vector-error correction model (VECM) methods was used with quarterly data in order to investigate the impact of aggregate money supply (M3), interest rate (Repo) and real exchange rate on CPIX (inflation) , economic growth (GDP volume rate) and unemployment (joblessness rate) in South Africa for the period 1986 to 2010. The results show that both monetary-policy regimes have positively impacted on economic growth, but the impact of the pre-inflation-targeting regime is higher. Moreover, a weak positive liaison between monetary policy and unemployment is observed, but the post-inflation-targeting regime shows a higher percentage decrease in unemployment than the pre-inflation targeting period. Beyond any doubt, the research approves the engagement of the SARB to monitor (target) CPIX (inflation) due to its ability to ensure price stability and create a stable economic environment favourable to economic performance.

M.Phil. / The Social Plan is an alternative retrenchment process to section 189 of the Labour Relations Act No. 66 of 1995 as amended. When the now defunct Mpumalanga Development Corporation was dismantled in 1997, following the speech of the then Premier of the Province, of the 5 th December 1996, South Africa saw the Social Plan route being followed for the first time in its short democratic history. While the Social plan is the better of the two routes, it still looks good on paper, but has been let down by the trade unions, the employers, the development corporations and the individual beneficiaries themselves in this case. The sad part of this is that the Government departments and the development corporations are the custodians of the objectives sought and enshrined in the Social plan. Their failure to observe this fact and live up to the expectations it genders is itself an indictment on these stakeholders. The dissertation deals with the deeper analysis and findings of the events and the omissions that took place in pursuit of the implementation of this novel concept in a real life situation. Definite recommendations are made within the text that contributes to how the effort can be rescued for the benefit of the retrenchees and the economy as a whole. The approach in this work has taken the form of a literature review as well as a field survey. The field survey did not yield a very high sample, but 20 respondents, who are former employees who were retrenched following the Social Plan route, were interviewed. These respondents had been located in the former KwaNdebele and former KaNgwane regions of the Mpumalanga Province. The main problem that resulted in this research was that the country as a whole is suffering a very high rate of unemployed at 37.5% (according to the 2001 Census Report) in the Mpumalanga Province. While that needs some attention, there is an increase in the retrenchments coming as a result of various global and domestic factors. These collectively impact the employment situation more adversely than positively. The social plan being one tool chosen to alleviate the problems identified in its own self contained rationale for being, has failed to live up to the expectations of all the stakeholders affected by it. The experience of the stakeholders in the first attempt to implement the social plan, have defeated the very objectives of the social plan, which include, inter alia, the following: a ...to avoid job losses and employment decline wherever possible. In cases where large job losses are unavoidable, it would seek to actively manage retrenchments and ameliorate their effects on individuals and local economies". The findings in this study revealed that the social plan rather deepened the problem and exacerbated rather than alleviated it. This adversity is not due to the nature of the social plan as an approach and a route to meeting the aims of its creation. It is rather reflective of the way and attitude with which parties to the social plan failed to apply their best abilities and efforts in its application. The dissertation also touches on entrepreneurships, Post employment and the currently raging broad based black economic empowerment drive that has taken the country by storm in various sectors. The attempt by this drive is to address the possible acceleration of the integration of black people into business at all levels and not just at SMMEs or post employment. One could say the whole BBBEE drive seeks to address even the pre-employment era in the life of a black South African.