Open AccessThe challenge of low employment economic growth in South Africa: 1994 -2008
Author(s) -
Darma Mahadea,
Richard Simson
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
suid-afrikaanse tydskrif vir ekonomiese en bestuurswetenskappe/south african journal of economic and management sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.277
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 2222-3436
pISSN - 1015-8812
DOI - 10.4102/sajems.v13i4.92
Subject(s) - demise , economics , unemployment , government (linguistics) , development economics , labour economics , economic growth , political science , linguistics , philosophy , law
The formal sector in South Africa is unable to provide adequate employment for labour although the economy registered positive economic growth rates over the past 15 years since the demise of apartheid. This is a critical problem, given the current recessionary climate and recent developments in the economies of our trading partners. While government has responded with many initiatives to deal with employment creation, unemployment rates remain high. This problem is examined by reviewing South Africa’s growth performance and links to employment and posits various alternative strategies. The growth elasticity of employment is found to be rather low over the 1994-2008 period, and even over a longer time horizon the marginal growth employment effect is found to be rather weak