ActionSA wants the Government of National Unity (GNU) to deliver “real, practical reforms” in Budget 3.0 to address South Africa’s deepening jobs crisis, while the GOOD Party reiterated its call for the implementation of a Basic Income Grant (BIG) amid the latest disappointing unemployment rate figures.

Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) on Tuesday reported that the official unemployment rate stood at 32.9% for the first quarter of this year, compared with the official unemployment rate of 31.9% for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Further, the expanded unemployment figure worsened by 1.2 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 43.1%.

ActionSA MP Alan Beesley stated that South Africa’s unemployment crisis was spiralling out of control and claimed that the GNU was missing in action.

“These are not just statistics — they are stories of hardship, hunger, and hopelessness. Behind every number is a young graduate sending out CVs with no response, a breadwinner sitting at home with no income, and families forced to choose between electricity and food,” he stated.

He called for bold action, warning that government would be remembered not for national unity, but for a national unemployment crisis.

He pointed out that just last week, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille revealed that her department now receives up to 10 000 applications for job openings, forcing them to rely on AI to shortlist candidates.

“…this is a stark sign of the desperation gripping South African households and the overwhelming pressure on even the most basic job opportunities,” he said.

He attributed the crisis to the “GNU’s lack of urgency, policy indecision, and total absence of accountability”.

Beesley noted that the GDP growth remained stuck below 1%, interest payments consumed 22c of every rand in tax revenue, and he said no GNU Minister had signed a performance agreement.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said the proposed BIG of at least R1 000 a month must be above the food poverty line and just below the lower-bound poverty line.

Herron said this intervention was not charity, but rather economic justice and a moral obligation.

“Every rand spent on social support will circulate back into the South African economy. Supporting people means supporting recovery. All ten parties in the GNU agreed to create a fairer, more just society. The time for action is now,” he said.

He said South Africa’s stagnant economic growth had fuelled almost two decades of rising unemployment.

“South Africa is not just facing an unemployment crisis; it’s facing a crisis of dignity. Every lost job means another family pushed into poverty. Every discouraged worker is a symbol of a broken economic system,” he stated.

He highlighted that despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment in his State of the Nation Address to build on the Social Relief of Distress Grant as the basis for “a sustainable form of income support”, the Budget impasse had meant the GNU had yet to take decisive action.

FIGHT FOR GROWTH AND JOBS

Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on Employment and Labour Michael Bagraim said confirmation from StatsSA that about 300 000 jobs were shed from the country’s economy showed that growth and jobs needed to be accelerated in the current economic environment.

Bagraim assured that economic growth and job creation were the paramount priority of the government.

“South Africa’s unemployment rate has tragically increased from 31.9% to 32.9% for the first three months of 2025. This translates to an unemployment queue of 8.2-million South Africans, who are deprived of the dignity of work.

“Our country needs a growth agenda that unlocks barriers to investment, such as eliminating job quotas and economic and labour regulations that protect narrow interests and not all South Africans,” he said.