BETWEEN April and June 2020, around 2 035 individuals were looking for employment, but were placed only 33.
This was revealed by the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation in its first-quarter report for 2020, which covers the period from April to June.
Under its Namibia Integrated Employment Information System (Nieis), the ministry recorded a total of 2 035 job seekers during this period.
Of this number, 1 214 were women and 821 men.
Of the registered job seekers, 1 651 were sitting at home, 384 were employed and 11 were living with disabilities.
The youth approached the ministry the most with 572 young people registered in the 25 to 29 age bracket, followed by the 453 between the ages of 30 and 34, and 305 in the 35 to 39 group.
Most of the job seekers (877) were from the Khomas region, followed by 361 from the //Kharas region.
The Kunene region has recorded the lowest number of people looking for employment, with just 16 registered, followed by Otjozondjupa with 28, and Oshikoto with 36.
Most of the candidates in the first quarter have completed their senior secondary education (586), followed by 411who have completed their junior secondary school education.
A total of 331 of the 2 035 have attained certificates/diplomas, and only 6% (112) hold university degrees.
Some 101 job hunters finished primary school only, while 33 had no formal education.
The report indicated that 16 people registered in the first quarter had postgraduate degrees.
The placement of job seekers depends on the availability of jobs on the market.
During the three months in question, the ministry received 1 446 vacancies reported to the Employment Services Bureau (ESB) through online or manual notification.
The ministry referred a total of 2 936 candidates, including some who were already on its database, to designated employers, but only managed to place 33.
The ministry could not explain why so many vacancies were reported, with so few placements.
Analysis by The Namibian suggests that the educational background was a key factor in getting placed.
Secondly, competition in the job market has intensified as the unemployment pool grew, including individuals with degrees and postgraduate qualifications.
Out of the 33 job hunters placed, 27 were men.
No reasons were provided for this.
Only one person living with a disability was placed in the three-month period.
The Kavango East region recorded the highest number of placed job seekers (10), followed by Khomas (9).
The public administration, defence and social security industry took in 15 of the 33 placements.
This was followed by the wholesale, retail and repair of motor vehicle industries absorbing nine job seekers, and agriculture eight.
Only three of people with no formal education were placed during the quarter.
The ministry registered a total of 40 designated employers (DEs) and three designated institutions on Nieis.
Khomas registered the highest number of employers, with 28, followed by the Hardap and Oshana regions, each registering three DEs respectively.
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