Mergers, acquisition, and unemployment have been on the increase in South Africa since 1994 when South Africa became a democratic country. Unemployment is a major challenge facing the South African economy. International researchers have found that in most countries where mergers and acquisitions are encouraged, employees of the acquired companies tend to lose employment in years subsequent to those mergers. This research paper aimed at establishing whether South African employees had similar experiences as those overseas. Altogether 42 listed companies that have been acquired in the period between 1996 and 2008 for the value exceeding R500 million were used for the research. An additional 11 companies not undergoing mergers were also selected. The outcome was that acquired companies negatively affect employment. These companies are able to grow their businesses but not in correlation to growing their workforce. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This thesis deals with motivation of long-term unemployed when looking for a job. It is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part deals with basic overview of theories of motivation and motivation to work. It also defines basic concepts regarding long- term unemployment. In connection with the issue it describes a system of material poverty, unemployment and abuse of social benefits. The final chapter of this section is devoted to a summary of the theoretical part. The practical part of the work contains the results of a research. Qualitative method and semi- structured interviews with beneficiaries in material need were used for data acquisition. The aim of the research is to understand what factors influence the motivation of long-term unemployed when looking for a job and when trying to solve their social situation. Part of this section is the interpretation of the results of the research and its evaluation.

Unemployment among youth within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is one of the major factors that has contributed to migratory movements. Today many youths are leaving their home countries within the region, in search of employment opportunities in stronger economies like that of South Africa. However, the local unemployment rates hinder their chances of employment. This qualitative study explored the livelihood strategies of unemployed black female migrant youth living in Cape Town, South Africa. The study interviewed twenty unemployed black female migrant youth between the ages of 25 and 34 to understand their experiences and perceptions of a) factors or conditions that forced them to immigrate to Cape Town, b) challenges they encountered in trying to secure employment, and vulnerabilities experienced, and c) the livelihood strategies they employed and available social service support. The findings reveal that unemployed black female migrant youth have immigrated to Cape Town for various reasons including political instability, social influences, poor economic conditions, and social factors such as marriage and poverty in their home countries. When they arrive in Cape Town, they face many obstacles in securing employment because of either their nationality or documentation status. They are also vulnerable due to lack of basic needs, living in overcrowded homes, and being in informal settlements where they build temporary shelters. To overcome the challenges they face, they engage in different livelihood strategies such as accessing free government clinics or hospitals for their healthcare. They are dependent on their spouses for support and engage in part-time employment. Besides, they have had limited information about any government or non-governmental organisations that provide support for unemployed black female migrant youth. The need for well-established social networks for unemployed black female migrants, where they can be received and assisted in integrating into society through legitimate channels, is relevant. There need to be centres that offer free English-language training for migrants who are not conversant in English. Established non-governmental organisations or government agencies need to provide facilities that could assist undocumented immigrants who have prolonged their stay in Cape Town. There is also a need to establish support centres that specifically target unemployed black female immigrants. The South African government should enforce sensitization and educate the public and stakeholders about the legitimacy of asylum-seeker permits issued to immigrants. If implemented in conjunction with policy measures, this could increase black female immigrant youth's ability to secure employment. The enforcement of the development of entrepreneurial skills programmes, which specifically vi target unemployed black female youth migrants in Cape Town, is another potentially beneficial strategy.

Bibliography: pages 254-266. / Workers domiciled in Qwaqwa, South Africa's smallest 'homeland', experience high rates of unemployment and job instability. Yet most terminations of employment are employee-instigated. This dissertation examines the reasons for employment instability among wage workers resident in a housing section in Phuthaditjhaba, the 'homeland's' only urban area. The approach adopted in the dissertation is primarily ethnographic. It describes the everyday experiences of African workers and treats their own perspectives of their working lives as central. Quantitative and qualitative data, collected from two samples drawn from the population in the housing area selected for study, are presented. It is argued that employment instability must be understood as a consequence of a web of interrelated circumstances and cannot be explained in terms of any one single causal factor. The following employment and employment-related circumstances are examined: workers' views of, and reactions to, wages and working conditions; problems with transport between places of work and home, and with workplace accommodation; conflicts of interest arising from domestic pressures undermining workers' ability to remain in a job; and the experience of joblessness. These various factors are then drawn together to show that workers do not perceive these factors in isolation from one another, but that they experience the oppressive conditions of their domestic and working lives as a totality. Any attempts to find ways to increase workers' job stability will have to look both within and beyond the workplace.

This thesis explores variations in employment outcomes among youth living under similar structural conditions of poverty and unemployment in ghetto neighbourhoods. It challenges structuralist accounts that ignore the role of personal agency and hold that structures alone determine action. The critical realist framework offers a helpful understanding of social structures as both material and cultural since human agency, or action, is influenced by circumstances that are both materially objective and culturally subjective. By probing the interaction of agency and structure this research shows that individual agency is a response to cultural beliefs and competing cultural norms. The ensuing worldview informs decisions and actions of youth which, under different cultures and material family structures, either reproduce or transform their educational and employment prospects in ghetto neighbourhoods. Ten case studies are analysed from youth in Manenberg, Cape Town, a neighbourhood that was historically segregated through the apartheid system of forced removals and resettlement. In-depth interviews provide evidence from life histories, experiences of education institutions and of looking for work. Further information is gathered from interviews with secondary participants, apart from participant observation in family and community activities through an ethnographic approach. Findings reveal that the culture of disengaged parenting leaves youth exposed only to the influence of low education and employment expectations such that they despondently relinquish career aspirations by dropping out of school, remaining unemployed and underemployed as a result. By contrast, consistent mentoring from parents entails a culture that competes with the negative influence of gangs and enables resilience among youth to pursue tertiary education. Youth thereby transform, rather than reproduce, their position in the labour market as unemployed or underemployed unskilled manual workers. Similarly, social networks beyond the neighbourhood provide youth with job information, supportive resources, and cultural capital, which enable them to conceptualise ideas of professional careers. This transforms the historical and contemporary material structure of ghetto neighbourhoods with socially isolated networks that limit youth to low-skilled employment opportunities. Such networks do not support personal agency towards alternative employment and youth resort to cultural practices of gangsterism, irregular and informal work.

From the music composers, the film producers and the sketch artists to the nail technicians and hairdressers, the creative industry can economically emancipate the youth of Africa. Employment is a valuable mechanism that enables people to live. It supports one’s livelihood. However, the lack of availability thereof, proves to put society in an uncomfortable position. The unemployment rate experienced in Africa is very high. Research provides that about 29% of the people in SA and around 18% of people in Botswana are unemployed. With the youth being the most vulnerable. Various programs have been introduced by different administrations over time to address youth unemployment which has been an issue of significant public concern all around. It would prove that more and more Africans are joining a depressed job market. This is due to the perception that only certain careers can fund a livelihood. There are jobs available in financial services, power, real estate, hospitality and healthcare and so forth, but these are not necessarily helpful or functional for everyone. Not all youth is academically suited for certain careers, and because of the marginalized education system, people are all heading to the same jobs. This leads to a limited intake into the workforce. There are hardly enough jobs in the creative industry. African State Parties provide a small portion of their national budget into the industry. The SA government in particular devoted R4.5-billion of its National budget to the Department of Arts and culture for 2018/19, which contributes to the promotion of arts, culture and development and heritage preservation among others. However, much of the SA budget is devoted to Education which includes arts education. For the potential impact it could have on development, the creative industry deserves more recognition. It is a “Can do” type of field with a large portion of it being informal and at times, people in the industry work for little-to-no income. State Parties are not injecting enough money into the industry itself for its growth and manifestation. Most of the creative industry is funded by the private sector and thus is difficult to penetrate by the young people living in townships and informal settlements. Governments will have to play a critical role in finding solutions to the issue of youth unemployment and with the prevalence of a high unemployment rate in South Africa, the creative industry can produce ways in which these challenges can be eradicated. / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Public Law / LLM / Unrestricted

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject Sociology at the University of Zululand, 2003. / This study investigates the effects of unemployment on the rate of crime in South Africa with specific reference to KwaZulu-Nata! Province. In assessing the major impact of unemployment on the rate of crime, the work of key thinkers such as, Durkheim, Merton, Marx and Keynesian classical theories, had a tremendous influence in this research. Other theories used are considered as contributory to this study. The hypotheses that were formulated for statistical testing revealed that unemployment contribute greatly to the high rate of crime in South Africa. This research also showed that the low level of education is responsible for the high rate of unemployment, and bears a direct relationship with the high rate of crime. Furthermore, this research showed that the minimum wage legislation by government contribute to the high rate of unemployment. fn the light of the above findings, the study recommends the following.- the co-ordinated effort and assistance of the diverse organizations such as prisons, business, trade unions, welfare agencies, schools and religious institutions in combatting the problem O' crime. This study also recommends a need for a strong relationship between the anti-crime programme and the Reconstruction and Development Programme. There is also a need for educational programmes aimed at reducing vulnerability to crime in South Africa. Furthermore, it is recommended that, rural areas in particular, be prioritized for special job creation projects and skills development programmes. Finally, a Parscnian analysis of our findings revealed 3 need for the integration and co-operation between the two social structures - the Ministry of Labour and the Department of Correctional Services units, which have earlier been highlighted by sociologists as the functional aspect of the social structure that keeps the social system stable.

This thesis is addressed to the theoretical controversy which revolves around the explanation of the higher unemployment rates that prevailed after 1957 . The debate that has been generated concerning the causes of this unemployment problem is usually referred to as the "structural" versus "deficient-demand" debate. An attempt is made to present a representative view of both sides of the debate as well as a critical evaluation of both positions. Care is taken to keep both positions separated for each leads to entirely different policy recommendations. A more general theoretical structure is presented which will be useful in analyzing the relevance of structural unemployment. Finally, the controversy is analyzed in terms of current economic development.

Over the past four years, considerable attention has been focused on the problems of high unemployment in the State of Oregon. The percentage of jobless continued to be higher than that of the nation. The depressed housing market, caused by high interest rates, coupled with an increase in the import of Canadian timber managed to reduce the demand for Oregon lumber and wood products drastically. This has resulted in an abnormally high unemployment rate in many of Oregon's counties which are dependent on the wood industry; for example, the 1980 jobless rate in Harney County reached a record high of 29 percent. On the other side of the spectrum, less dependent counties such as Gilliam and Morrow continued to grow during the same period, with unemployment rates of merely 4.9 and 5.8 percent respectively. These rates are approximately half the state average. Community leaders, including the Governor, seem convinced that the only solution is economic diversification. It is an argument that makes a great deal of sense at first glance. The notion here is that if you diversify you will become less vulnerable to outside forces and hence will have a more stable economy. But what is diversification? How can we tell that one region is more diversified than another? Furthermore, having a diversified economy, does this ensure a lower rate of unemployment? The thrust of this dissertation deals with providing answers to these questions. Three schools of thought--ogive-norm, portfolio variance and entropy--were examined in an effort to determine a more proper measure of economic diversification. Various statistical procedures of hypothesis testing were employed together with stepwise regression and analysis of variance. The research findings indicate that there is a definite relationship between economic diversification and regional unemployment. However, only 28 percent of the change in the rate of unemployment is explainable by changes in the levels of diversification. (The necessary data were provided by the State of Oregon - Employment Division).

No description available.