Presidential Employment Stimulus reaches over 500,000 people since its launch in October 2020
The Presidency has released its fourth progress report on implementation of the Presidential Employment Stimulus. This report shows that by the end of March 2021, a total of 532,180 people had directly benefited from the stimulus, including 422,786 jobs created or retained and 109,394 livelihoods supported. Livelihoods support includes, for example, production input vouchers for farmers, awards to the creative sector and income support for the Early Childhood Development sector. A further 161,972 opportunities are still being processed as part of Phase 1 of the stimulus, bringing the total number of opportunities supported to 694,152.
The Presidential Employment Stimulus was developed in response to the severe economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It aims to create new jobs, provide support for livelihoods and protect existing jobs in vulnerable sectors.
A further allocation of R11 billion has been made in the budget for 2021/2022 to extend the stimulus into a second phase. An intensive process is currently underway to allocate these funds to programmes that will have the greatest impact in creating jobs and supporting livelihoods, including through the continuation of several existing programmes.
An online dashboard has been developed to enable the public to access detailed information on the stimulus and to monitor its implementation. This dashboard is available at the following link: https://www.stateofthenation.gov.za/employment-stimulus-dashboard.
The dashboard will be updated on a regular basis as data is received from implementing departments. The launch of this tool reflects government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the implementation of the stimulus, and to the use of technology to enhance its impact.
The Presidential Employment Stimulus has provided crucial support to South Africans in all provinces and across all age groups, creating work for the common good and enabling participants to earn an income while the labour market recovers.
Source: Government of South Africa