title: The employment environment for youth in rural South Africa: A mixed-methods study.
abstract: South Africa has high youth unemployment. This paper examines the predictors of youth employment in rural Agincourt, Mpumalanga Province. A survey of 187 out-of-school 18-24 year olds found only 12% of women and 38% of men were currently employed. Men with skills/training were significantly more likely to report employment, mostly physical labour (aOR: 4.5; CI: 1.3, 15.3). In-depth interviews with 14 of the youth revealed women are perceived more suitable for formal employment, which is scarce informing why women were more likely to pursue further education and yet less likely to be employed. Ten key informants from local organisations highlighted numerous local youth employment resources while, in contrast, all youth in the sample said no resources were available, highlighting a need for the organisations to extend their services into rural areas. As these services are focused on entrepreneurship, programs to increase financial literacy and formal employment opportunities are also needed.
authors.affiliation: Carolina Population Center, 206 W. Franklin St., Room 208, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, USA; Department of Maternal and Child Health Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, CB#7445 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7445, USA.
authors.forename: Andra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.affiliation: Carolina Population Center, 206 W. Franklin St., Room 208, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, USA; Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, CB#7435, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7435, USA; MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pettifor
authors.affiliation: Carolina Population Center, 206 W. Franklin St., Room 208, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, USA; Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, CB#7435, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7435, USA.
authors.forename: Molly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: Carolina Population Center, 206 W. Franklin St., Room 208, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, USA; Department of Maternal and Child Health Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, CB#7445 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7445, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Halpern
authors.affiliation: Carolina Population Center, 206 W. Franklin St., Room 208, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, USA; Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, CB#7411 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7411, USA.
authors.forename: Harsha
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thirumurthy
authors.affiliation: MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa; Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden; Indepth Network, P.O. Box KD 213, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Collinson
authors.affiliation: MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa; Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden; Indepth Network, P.O. Box KD 213, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kahn
keywords: employment; rural; youth