Generations at a crossroads: Youth employment and retirement security in South Africa

HIGH youth unemployment, inadequate retirement savings and a growing elderly population converge in South Africa to create an intergenerational dilemma, threatening both economic stability and social cohesion.

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Youth unemployment stands at 46.1% for ages 15-34, rising to 62.4% for those aged 15-24, while only 10% of South Africans have adequate retirement savings to maintain pre-retirement living standards. At the same time, 38% of those over 60 live below the poverty line and the population aged 60 and above accounts for 9.2%, projected to reach 15% by 2050.

Many older workers remain in the labour market out of necessity, sometimes competing with youth for scarce jobs, while younger generations often support elderly relatives financially. These intergenerational pressures are visible not only in unemployment and poverty statistics but in the daily realities of households and communities.

Regional disparities amplify the challenge: youth unemployment peaks at 58.8% in the North West and 54.3% in the Eastern Cape, while urban centres like the Western Cape report rates as low as 25%. Young South Africans with workplace experience are four times more likely to secure employment than those without, highlighting the urgent need for skills development and experiential pathways that expand opportunities rather than crowd them out for the next generation.

The structural skills gap further complicates the challenge. Only 9.8% of employed youth have a tertiary education, while vocational and technical pathways remain underdeveloped, leaving many young people in low-skill, precarious employment. Apprenticeships, on-the-job training and labour-absorbing sectors such as manufacturing, agro-processing and green energy could mitigate these challenges if effectively coordinated with national policy and private sector support. Without targeted interventions, the combination of low growth and high unemployment risks creates a persistent generation of economically marginalised youth.