IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

In this month of June, South Africans commemorate the 1976 June 16 uprising when more than 15 000 students in Soweto took to the streets to march against the Bantu education policies. Every year, June 16 is National Youth Day and is declared a public holiday. Although the youth of 1976 fought against unequal education and language amongst other issues, the youth of today are faced with a different crisis, that of unemployment. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) of Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), released on 01 June 2017, the unemployment rate in South Africa has increased to 27,7% in the first quarter of 2017,which is the highest increase observed since 2003. Youth unemployment contributed 38,6% to the unemployment rate. However, South Africa is not the only country with such a high rate of youth unemployment; the Group of Twenty (G20) countries such as France, Canada and Brazil are faced with the same crisis. The G20 will be hosting the 2017 Summit on 07 and 08 July in Germany and at this twelfth summit, they will be discussing ways to address this pressing socioeconomic crisis, namely youth unemployment.

In this month’s issue of Mbalo Brief, our educational article is based on the Community Survey 2016 with a focus on the state of basic service delivery in South Africa. Also have a look at our monthly crossword puzzle and solutions for the May 2017 puzzle.

Articles published in this issue are based on results of industry surveys conducted for the months ranging from March to April 2017, such as manufacturing, and the wholesale trade.

Download: Mbalo Brief – June 2017