Unemployment in South Africa: A survey of research

This paper attempts to summarise the results of recent research into unemployment (predominantly Black) in South Africa. It refers to the prospect of improved data from the newly initiated ‘Current Population Survey ‐ Bantu’, but in the main concentrates on what we know on the basis of currently available information. After an examination of conceptual and empirical difficulties in the way of measurement it summarises (i) the macro‐estimates of Sadie, van der Merwe, Simkins, Loots and Knight and (ii) the results of some small‐scale investigations into unemployment. It then deals with suggested explanations of long‐term unemployment, with remedial policies (in both of which fields much remains to be done) and with directions in which further research is required.