Lutho qoba

grade 12 sr

subject; research assignment

topic;2 urban problems

What causes of unemployment?

#1 – High-interest rates:
#2 – Recession or sluggish economic growth:
#3 – Population increase:
#4 – Technological advancements and lack of skills:
#5 – Underdeveloped labor markets:
#6 – The natural rate of unemployment:

#1 – High-interest rates:

When banks raise interest rates, the cost of borrowing goes up. As a result, companies cannot sustain
increased levels of expenditure. They will have to cut down on employees’ salaries or lay off workers to
save financial resources. They may not hire new employees either, contributing to unemployment.

#2 – Recession or sluggish economic growth:

Here, the economy’s growth rate may be slower than anticipated, and the economy may not create
adequate jobs. When there is no production, no jobs are created, and there comes no need to employ
people. Hence, it contributes to unemployment.

#3 – Population increase:

The number of people who need jobs also increases with a population surge. However, it is impossible to
employ all the people living in a country. So the supply here is more than the demand, and hence
unemployment is inevitable to a certain degree

#4 – Technological advancements and lack of skills:

Technologically, the world is making an immense progress. Jobs such as billing and accounting have been
largely optimized by technology and do not require much human interference. Automation and artificial
intelligence has led companies to cut down on the cost of employing human resources. This contributes to
unemployment. Similarly, in this fast pace of social and economic advancements, jobs require additional
skill sets and continuous upskilling. Those who cannot catch up are laid off and lags, which contributes to
unemployment.

#5 – Underdeveloped labor markets:

This case mostly applies to developing countries. People there may be employed in jobs such as fishing,
farming, or hunting and may be paid in kind (not cash but as shelter and food). These may not be classified
as underemployment
and therefore belong to the unemployed category.

#6 – The natural rate of unemployment:

In every society, there exists a natural rate of unemployment. It may exist because companies decided to
pause hiring due to welfare laws put by the State. However, the average rate of unemployment prolongs
an economy for an extended period.
Possible solutions for unemployment

Improve Your Skills

If you have been unemployed for a while, your skills might be outdated which won’t help you get a job.
Doing various short courses in your field can help you learn about what’s new and keep your skills fresh.
Distance learning courses are perfect because they can be done while you job hunt. But that’s not all, you
have the option between accredited or provider programmes

Turn Hobbies Into Opportunities

Is there something you are really good at or perhaps just enjoy doing in your free time? Why not turn it
into a career? Hobbies such as doing nails, playing with kids and taking photos can all be turned into career
opportunities. In fact they can be turned into businesses.

Volunteer
Not having enough experience could be the reason why you aren’t receiving feedback. Volunteering can
give you both the experience you need and the opportunity to gain new skills. But that’s not all,
volunteering is also a great way for you to start networking and build up contacts in your field.

Do Your Research
It’s not enough to just send your CV out to apply for jobs. You should do some homework on the company
you are applying to. This will give you the information you need to tailor your CV to the specific company
and position. You want your CV to make the perfect first impression!

Decentralisation of Industrial activity is necessary to reduce unemployment. If industrial activities are

centralised in one place, there will be fewer employment opportunities in underdeveloped areas. So Govt.
should adopt such policies which encourage the decentralisation of industrial activity.
Content page

page 1……………………. the description of unemployment

page 2…………………….an outline of the causes of unemployment

page 3…………………… an outline of the causes of unemployment

page 4…………………… an outline of the causes of unemployment

page 5……………………. A short contrast

page 6……………………. A short contrast

page 7……………………. A short contrast

page 8 ……………………. A short contrast

page 9……………………. A short contrast

page 10……………………possible solutions

page 11…………………..possible solutions

bibliography
https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/South-Africa/United-States/Economy

www.statista.com/statistics/1286939/unemployment-rate-in-africa-by-country

www.jstor.org/
A short contast

South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources;
well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors and a stock exchange that is
the 15th largest in the world. Even though the country possesses modern infrastructure that support a
relatively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region, some components
retard growth. The economy began to slow in the second half of 2007 due to an electricity crisis. State
power supplier Eskom encountered problems with aging plants and meeting electricity demand
necessitating "load-shedding" cuts in 2007 and 2008 to residents and businesses in the major cities.
Subsequently, the global financial crisis reduced commodity prices and world demand. GDP fell nearly 2%
in 2009 but has recovered since then. Unemployment, poverty, and inequality remain a challenge, with
official unemployment at nearly 25% of the work force. Eskom has built two new power stations and
installed new power demand management programs to improve power grid reliability. South Africa's
economic policy has focused on controlling inflation, however, the country has had significant budget
deficits that restrict its ability to deal with pressing economic problems. The current government faces
growing pressure from special interest groups to use state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to
low-income areas and to increase job growth. The US has the largest and most technologically
powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $49,800. In this market-oriented economy,
private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments
buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater
flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay
off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter
their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the
forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military
equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely
explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the
education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get
comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains
in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. Since 1996, dividends and capital gains have
grown faster than wages or any other category of after-tax income. Imported oil accounts for nearly 55% of
US consumption. Crude oil prices doubled between 2001 and 2006, the year home prices peaked; higher
gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets and many individuals fell behind in their mortgage payments.
Oil prices climbed another 50% between 2006 and 2008, and bank foreclosures more than doubled in the
same period. Besides dampening the housing market, soaring oil prices caused a drop in the value of the
dollar and a deterioration in the US merchandise trade deficit, which peaked at $840 billion in 2008. The
sub-prime mortgage crisis, falling home prices, investment bank failures, tight credit, and the global
economic downturn pushed the United States into a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third
quarter of 2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. To help
stabilize financial markets, in October 2008 the US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset
Relief Program (TARP). The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and
industrial corporations, much of which had been returned to the government by early 2011. In January
2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill providing an additional $787
billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts
- to create jobs and to help the economy recover. In 2010 and 2011, the federal budget deficit reached
nearly 9% of GDP. In 2012 the federal government reduced the growth of spending and the deficit shrank
to 7.6% of GDP. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan required major shifts in national resources from civilian to
military purposes and contributed to the growth of the budget deficit and public debt. Through 2011, the
direct costs of the wars totaled nearly $900 billion, according to US government figures. US revenues from
taxes and other sources are lower, as a percentage of GDP, than those of most other countries. In March
2010, President OBAMA signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a health insurance
reform that was designed to extend coverage to an additional 32 million American citizens by 2016,
through private health insurance for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. Total
spending on health care - public plus private - rose from 9.0% of GDP in 1980 to 17.9% in 2010. In July
2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a law
designed to promote financial stability by protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer
bailouts of financial firms, dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving
accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring certain financial
derivatives to be traded in markets that are subject to government regulation and oversight. In December
2012, the Federal Reserve Board announced plans to purchase $85 billion per month of mortgage-backed
and Treasury securities in an effort to hold down long-term interest rates, and to keep short term rates
near zero until unemployment drops to 6.5% from the December rate of 7.8%, or until inflation rises above
2.5%. Long-term problems include stagnation of wages for lower-income families, inadequate investment
in deteriorating infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, energy
shortages, and sizable current account and budget deficits - including significant budget shortages for state
governments
the description of unemployment?

Unemployment refers to a situation where individuals capable of working seek active opportunities for
work but cannot find any for various reasons. For a person to be considered unemployed, that individual
must be an active member of the labor force actively searching for remunerative employment.

It is an indicator of the conditions prevailing in the labor market. When there is less employment, it means
the economy is producing less. This hints at the decline of overall economic performance, an important
element in monetary policy
planning. In addition, unemployment can cause personal and social distress and political turmoil.