• Labour market reform is key to addressing South Africa’s structural unemployment problem. Professor Nattrass and Professor Seekings argue that although South Africa’s unemployment problem is largely structural, labour and industrial policies are biased against labour-intensive industries.
• South Africa has an extremely high unemployment rate.
• Greater minimum wage flexibility is essential to making the South African economy significantly more labour-intensive.
• Where the expansion of labour-intensive sectors is linked to special economic zones, non-wage benefits could potentially include better housing, schooling and access to clinics.
• Inclusive development and the reduction of unemployment is impossible without more labour-intensive growth.
