SME’S: DEVELOPMENT
All eyes on small
business development
Photo: Chris Kirchhoff, MediaClubSouthAfrica.com
In free markets, small businesses, rather than major corporations, have
proven to be the engine that drives the vital function of job creation. In South
Africa, however, small business development has failed to put a dent in the
growing and shockingly high level of joblessness, writes Zweli Mokgata
A
ccording to Statistics SA, the unemployment level in
the formal economy (people who continue to seek
work) has been around 25% for the past 10 years, which
is worrying, considering population growth. Some
.analysts say the actual level of unemployment is much
higher, as many citizens have given up looking for work.
According to human resource firm Adcorp’s Employment Index,
the SA economy lost 118 397 jobs in February (compared to 36 290
jobs in January), marking the biggest monthly job loss in almost three
years. The biggest losses were in permanent work, and significant
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2014/06/24 10:27 AM