Graduate unemployment in South Africa (2016-2025): trends, drivers and policy matrix

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This study examines the evolving nature of graduate unemployment in South Africa over the past decade, arguing that the challenge has shifted from short-term, cyclical labour market mismatches to a deeply structural failure of economic absorption.Drawing on evidence of employment outcomes and policy experience from 40 publications, the analysis based on the Atlas_ti 26.0.0 model demonstrates that graduate unemployment is driven by the interaction of structural constraints-such as slow and uneven economic growth, deindustrialisation, limited expansion of high-skill sectors, and persistent socio-economic inequalities-alongside institutional weaknesses within higher education, labour market entry systems, and recruitment practices.These long-standing conditions have been further intensified by cyclical shocks, notably the economic downturn preceding 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted school-to-work transitions and generated scarring effects for new labour market entrants.The findings reinforce the National Development Plan 2030's core proposition that employment is the foundation of development, while highlighting a critical gap between human capital production and productive employment creation.Consequently, graduate unemployment should be treated as a systemic indicator of economic performance and inclusion rather than an education failure, and argues for policy approaches that prioritise demand-side job creation, strengthened labour market transitions, and equity-driven absorption strategies to align higher education outcomes with inclusive growth objectives.

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