Perceptions about economic issues

Although the South African economy is generally seen to have sound fundamentals with the high growth potential of an emerging market, longer-term employment trends remain a cause of concern. The number of employment opportunities created during each phase of economic recovery is not keeping pace with the growth of the country's economically active population. This places South Africa broadly on a par with international unemployment rates: "According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) some 30% of the world's workforce is either unemployed or underemployed in industrial and developing countries taken together." In light of these economic circumstances the attitudes of South Africans to changes in their economic situations over the past year were tested. The sentiments about changes in economic circumstances largely reflect the focus of national efforts to promote economic development and social enlistment. A comparable pattern emerged when analysing respondents' attitudes to changes in the financial situations of their wider households.