Determinants of youth unemployment in South Africa: evidence from the Vhembe district of Limpopo province

The persistent high unemployment rate confronting South Africa, in particular among the youth, continues to be a cause of concern for all stakeholders including academic researchers dealing with labor market issues. As a contribution to efforts at finding solution to the unemployment challenge, the study sought to investigate the nature and causes of rural unemployment amongst the youth using data on a sample of 580 randomly and systematically selected youth from the four local municipalities in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province, South Africa. Binary logistic regression model was estimated to determine the socio-demographic, as well as economic factors that influence youth unemployment. Results of the binary logistic regression model showed that having received (skills) training and work experience were associated with reduced odds of being unemployed. This study highlights the importance of skills training opportunities, as well as apprenticeship in mitigating the unemployment challenge among the youth. The provision of necessary training infrastructure and funding for skills training, as well as work integrated learning and extended career specific internship programs to help to equip South African youth with work experience are major recommendations from this study. Keywords: unemployment, youth, binary logistic regression, Vhembe district, South Africa. JEL Classification: J6