Public employment and livelihood trajectories in South Africa's constrained labour market

This year more than one million people will participate in Public Employment programmes (PEPs) in South Africa. These programmes involve the provision of work that is state funded but outside the usual structure of the public service. In a context where unemployment is the main determinant of poverty, Public Employment offers a form of social assistance to protect people from social and economic vulnerability. But when South Africa’s social protection landscape changed with the advent of the Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD) to support the working aged, unemployed population, the policy conversation shifted alongside it with a renewed emphasis on the ways work matters beyond income. This is particularly in relation to the way that participation in meaningful work could build skills, capabilities, and networks that can lead to improved economic participation and livelihoods. From this perspective Public Employment is articulated as multi-purpose policy tool, where well-designed and well-implemented programmes can ideally act as a safety net and a springboard into more productive and resilient livelihoods.