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CHALLENGES: Government needs to fight youth unemployment

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A MORE flexible labour regime is needed to deal with unemployment, inequality and poverty, the ANC Youth League has said.

"This calls for the government to manage the status quo without seeking to fundamentally alter the structure of the economy," the ANCYL said in a statement on Sunday.

"Capital continues exerting pressure for greater labour market flexibility."

The league said the government had failed to hold big business and the private sector to the commitment of creating jobs.

The ANCYL was responding to the results of the Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2012, published by Statistics South Africa. According to the research, unemployment in the country had increased from 23,9% to 25%.

The ANCYL said the outcome was alarming but it was more concerned about the government's response to the issue of unemployed and unemployable youth.

The league was still waiting for government and the public sector to respond to its demands communicated during its economic freedom march in October last year.

"For us, this demonstrates a lack of commitment and a clear will to deal decisively with the plight of the youth," it said.

The ANCYL said it would continue to reject proposals for a youth wage subsidy.

"The youth wage subsidy is not intended to serve the interests of young people but instead the interests of capital as a tax incentive.

"Implementing a youth wage subsidy has the potential to deepen the crisis whereby older, unskilled people are rejected in favour of youths."

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Mon May 20 06:57:56 SAST 2013 ::

Jun 13, 2012

O'Lebturez

I think we the youth of South Africa we should stop settling down and depend totally on the government to provide us with jobs, there are no jobs because we do not create them, I'm also unemployed but that's not the case I will create jobs in South Africa... In a few months I will start out businesses and support other South African to create their own...If we don't create jobs we will end up working for Foreigners because they create jobs
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