Lessons for South Africa from international examples of lowering unemployment or maintaining low unemployment rates

The existence of challenges in South Africa’s labour market is undisputed and well researched. This paper assesses effective labour market reforms by synthesising major policy recommendations and considering examples of countries where reforms have successfully reduced the national unemployment rate or maintained low unemployment rates over several decades. From these international perspectives, specific insights are gathered about the feasibility of implementing similar labour market reforms in South Africa, or elsewhere in the world, and the trade-offs required for success. We demonstrate that there is often a tension between the quantity and quality of work created in an economy, and governments must strike a careful balance between worker protection and job-enabling labour market reforms to reduce unemployment levels materially.