A Survey of Job Loss in Selected Communities around Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

This paper reported on a survey of job loss in selected communities around Johannesburg, South Africa. Six communities were purposively selected to participate in this study on the basis of a perceived high incidence of job losses among them as a result of retrenchments, downsizing and plant closures. In each community questionnaires were distributed to, and interviews held with, a sample of residents. Overall, the respondents stressed the hardships caused by joblessness. The findings further showed that most of the respondents were anxious and worried about both the present and the future, and urged community leaders to intervene. The findings also showed that a significant number of residents did not have satisfactory support structures after becoming jobless, a situation that induced serious anxieties. They experienced a feeling of lowered self-esteem. However, although seriously afflicted by the ravages of job loss within their communities, the majority of the respondents did not express a desire to relocate to other places.