South Africa’s unemployment rate has been a longstanding issue fuelled by high job seeking costs, lack of access to opportunities, challenges in the education system and economic inequality. A multifaceted approach will be needed in order to combat these barriers and lower the unemployment rate.

JOBJACK and youth unemployment: Active steps to a better employment rate

72% of the job seekers currently registered on JOBJACK are between the ages of 25 - 34. Comparably, at the end of Q4 for 2022, 73% of job seekers registered on JOBJACK were between the ages of 20 - 30 years, reaffirming the need for employment among South African youth.

For the end of this quarter, JOBJACK sent out a survey to job seekers who recently found employment through the platform to investigate and understand the circumstances under which they were looking for a job.

When it comes to dependents, 83% of participants indicated that they relied on the Child Support Grant to help sustain their income. 20% of the participants indicated that their household consisted of five people, while 47.8% of participants indicated that their household includes more than five. Of all the survey participants, 69% indicated that they did not receive any monthly salary before finding a job on JOBJACK.

Of the hires made through JOBJACK during 2023, 53% of the successful job seekers fall under the youth category of 25 - 34 years.

From these job seekers, our survey indicated that 41% of the participants were job seeking for over a year before having a successful job application on JOBJACK.

To combat the estimated 3,7 million (36,1%) young people aged 15-24 years not in employment, education or training from Q1 in 2023, JOBJACK has taken the following actionable steps towards assisting job seekers.

Accessibility and affordability

JOBJACK’s online platform for job seekers has reduced job seeking costs by eliminating the need for CV printing and transport in the application process. Previous research has indicated that these costs could add up to R605 per month, where more traditional job seeking routes are taken. JOBJACK has drastically decreased the application cost by making the usage of the JOBJACK Platform a free service for job seekers to use. In addition, JOBJACK is also data free for MTN and Vodacom network users.

By using an online platform, job seekers also have greater access to a variety of job opportunities that would otherwise not be available through traditional application methods. With access to more job opportunities, job seekers have a better chance of applying for jobs that are more relevant to their skills and needs and could lead to a higher success rate.

Reliable opportunities

Unfortunately, job scams have become more prevalent in South Africa and have made the job seeking journey more difficult for some. Job scams have cost job seekers more money, through training payment scams and loss of transport costs to venues of fake interviews. This has led to many job seekers becoming hesitant and discouraged towards some application methods altogether.

However, to ensure job seekers' safety and job opportunities' integrity, JOBJACK adheres to a strict verification process for companies and jobs posted on the platform. Job seekers can apply for jobs on JOBJACK’s Platform knowing that the posted jobs are legitimate.

Guided applications

Online platforms, like JOBJACK, can assist job seekers with their CVs and application process. By prompting job seekers with the required information for a comprehensive and complete CV, an online profile or CV is automatically generated that the job seeker can use for their job applications on the platform.

All other required information and documentation can be asked for and submitted by job seekers through the platform, resulting in a more complete and streamlined application.

Resources

JOBJACK also encourages job seekers that are registered on the platform to make use of the free resources that are available to them. Resources are a great tool to use before, during and even after a successful hire to stay up to date with the latest job information.

These resources range from advice on the information added to your job seeking profile and how to improve it or to create more awareness and helpful links for education opportunities and upskilling.

Considering the positives, the QLFS indicates that South Africa did see an increase in employment from Q1 by 258 000 to 16,2 million.

As we are becoming more aware of ways to assist job seekers and address the current barriers through education and more accessibility, South Africa can continue to see a more positive change.

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Download the condensed version of our survey statistics here.