Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt on Thursday voiced his concern over South Africa’s stumbling job creation ambitions amid an economic slump that has placed the nation on the brink of a recession.
Addressing delegates at an Ekurhuleni Captains of Industry Forum morning meet, he indicated that government was making a “huge mistake” by trying to focus on creating jobs and suggested that government should rather focus all its efforts on growing the economy, which would, in turn, create more jobs.
“We are confusing job creation with keeping busy . . . the only sustainable way of creating jobs is by growing the economy,” he noted.
Currently, South Africa’s unofficial unemployment rate was well above 30%, he said.
The latest Statistics South Africa data placed the official unemployment figure at over 26%.
Innovation and technology were increasingly leading to job losses, but a growing economy would grow jobs elsewhere.
However, the country first needed to deal with, besides several others, its labour issues and fix its political situation, with the current political landscape “holding South Africa back" amid State capture concerns, corruption and inefficiency – all of which “must stop”.
“We need confidence in an economy to be assured of our future,” he noted.