UNEMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SOUTH AFRICA FROM 1980 TO 2020 AN ARDL APPROACH

Abstract

This study investigates unemployment and economic growth in South Africa for the period from 1980 to 2020. The study seeks to investigate the nature of the relationship that exists between unemployment and economic growth in the short and long run. This study utilizes borrowed annual time series data collected from online secondary sources, that is, the World Bank, spanning a time period from 1980 to 2020. The results reveal that there is a negative, statistically insignificant relationship between unemployment and economic growth in South Africa. The Granger causality tests reveal that there is no causality between unemployment and economic growth in South Africa. The policy implication of this study is that the government must propose and implement policies that supports labour-intensive policies to reduce higher unemployment and increase economic growth in South Africa.