Youth Day 2021: Some desperation and despondency, but big dreams

Figures from Statistics South Africa confirmed that the Youth unemployment rate in South Africa increased to 63.3% in the first quarter of 2021 from 63.2% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ipsos undertook a project called Mzansi Roars, that focused on the lives and livelihoods of South Africans, their incomes and spending patterns, what they eat and what they value, nutrition and health, their satisfaction with life, the financial situation of households, traditions and culture, their life-worlds, dreams and aspirations. For Youth Day 2021 we will take a look at how some of these aspects, probed in the Mzansi Roars project, continue to influence the lives of young people.

Unemployment, variable earnings and very little money to go around

By no means do we want to underplay the dire need for job creation in our country, as roughly 3 in ten (27%) adult South Africans and four in ten (37%) young people in the country are looking for work. The frightening high figure of youth unemployment needs some unpacking.

A large proportion of young South Africans are studying to improve their chances of finding a job in the future, as is evident from the 89% of 15-17 year olds, and 37% of 18-24 year olds who are students. However, entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well among the young people of South Africa, with a smaller number of youths creating a source of income for themselves.

The contributions made to the income of the younger age groups by means of Government Grants should not be underestimated, with more than a third (35%) of 15-17 year olds receiving a Government Grant. This support does get progressively less with age, with 29% of 18-24 year olds and 27% of 25-34 year olds receiving Government Grants.

The receipt of a regular income from a Government Grant does however not guarantee a steady income. It is remarkable that 44% of adult South Africans indicated that the amount of money they receive on a monthly basis (from all sources) keeps on changing.

This is an even bigger issue for younger people, that complicates their planning for expenses and making accurate budgeting near impossible.

With almost six in ten (59%) 15-17 year olds and almost half (48%) of 18-24 year olds saying that they “never” have any money left at the end of a month after personal and household expenses are paid, it is another sign that numerous and varied demands are made on their monthly income.

In these circumstances where every rand is turned over quite a few times before spending, it should not be surprising that South Africans of all ages do not have money set aside for emergencies. From the figure below it is clear that younger adults are definitely less prepared for unforeseen situations than older people – although a dearth of planning and provision for emergencies seem to be quite common.

Are young people more deprived?

A good question is whether this might be an indication that younger adults are more deprived than older South Africans. A variety of circumstances can be investigated to prove or disprove this notion. Access to clean water is regarded as a basic human right: Is it more difficult or laborious for younger people to access water than for older people?

Although these figures are probably saying a great deal more about the inefficiency and lack of delivery of basic services from local governments in all areas of the country, it is clear that a smaller proportion of young people than older people have access to running water inside their houses – and thus they have to make more of an effort to access clean water for daily use. This undoubtedly has an influence on the time available for other activities, like work and studying.

The entrepreneurial spirit, living standards and hope for the future

In an international Global Advisor study published by Ipsos in early 2021, it was found that South Africans are some of the most entrepreneurial in the world¹.

Focusing specifically on young people, more than a third aged 34 and below agrees that “One needs to have your own business in order to have a secure lifestyle²” , showing that entrepreneurial spirit in the country is alive and well – and possibly fueled by a lack of other opportunities.

Although moderate proportions of young people agree that their standard of living is better now in relation to what it was 5 years ago, they are definitely more confident that their circumstances will improve in the future.

Politics are not high on the agenda³

However, this hope for the future is not related to the political circumstances in the country. In fact, young people (like older people) are rather unsure and apprehensive about the direction in which the country is moving:

In addition, young people are not really interested in politics and elections⁴, and about a third do not want to vote in the upcoming Local Government Elections, and the same proportions do not feel attached to any current political party in the country. This is about the same proportion as older people in the country who feel this way.

These opinions might be closely related to the low levels of trust in politicians and political parties expressed by young people (with the possible exception of the president). These figures really bring the realisation home that political parties have their work cut out before the Local Government Elections in October 2021, to convince young people to go to the polls and participate in elections that can influence their living conditions and local circumstances for the next five years.

¹ Entrepreneurialism alive and well in the time of the pandemic (https://www.ipsos.com/en-za/entrepreneurialism-time-pandemic)
² This graph shows the proportions of young people who gave this statement an 8, 9 or 10 out of 10 on an agreement scale.
³ The findings discussed in this section are from the Ipsos Pulse of the People study, December 2020.
⁴ 50% of 15-17 year olds, 45% of 18-24 year olds and 42% of 25-34 year olds are not interested in politics and elections.

Technical Detail:

• Mzansi Roars: In July and August 2020 3,612 face-to-face interviews were conducted with a randomly selected sample of adult South Africans, 15 years and older. Final results were weighted and projected to the universe.
• Pulse of the People: As part of Ipsos’ regular Khayabus studies 3,599 face-to-face interviews were conducted in December 2020 with a randomly selected sample of adult South Africans, 15 years and older. Final results were weighted and projected to the universe.
• The margins of error of both studies are in the region of 0.65 to 1.75 for the samples as a whole. Margin of error is determined by sample size, response rate and sampling methodology used.