There has been a debate regarding the extent of graduate unemployment in South
Africa and how it has affected the youth. The main focus of this study was therefore
to identify the determinants of employment status among graduates, particularly the
length of unemployment endured by young graduates in South Africa. The focus on
graduates was necessary, given the understanding that once one has a university
degree, the opportunities to get a job are assumed to be high. It was also on the
premise of the substantial resources that are invested in higher education with the
hope of a higher return. The objectives of the study were categorised into theoretical
and empirical. The theoretical objectives were: to define unemployment and
graduate unemployment, review literature on various types of unemployment,
conduct a review on the problem of youth unemployment from a global, regional and
South African perspective, review the trend of graduate unemployment in South
Africa, and evaluate the factors that affect graduate unemployment.