105 those at the bottom. What this confirms is that income growth has not necessarily resulted in a decline in South Africa’s historically high levels of inequality. 85 A comparison of aggregate Gini coefficients (the most widely used measure of inequality) shows that, in fact, levels of inequality have widened, thus making South Africa one of the most unequal societies in the world. This suggests a deep problem of structural inequalities with a long history in the foundation of the modern South African economy. One of the variables that contribute to high levels of poverty is unemployment, in particular among the youth. “The level of unemployment in South Africa officially decreased in the fourth quarter of 2012 by 0.1%, down from 25% to 24.9% (2012 Fourth Quarter Labour Survey). Sadly though, while any reduction in the unemployment rate is good news, in truth this marginal change reflects more an increase in the number of discouraged work seekers (youths who are no longer looking for work), than an actual increase in employment”86. Even those who are employed are not fully immune from poverty, particularly for the one-worker households in the lower-income categories owing in large measure to low levels of school education as the supply of low-skilled workers far outstrips the demand. Therefore, government has introduced a wide array of interventions aimed at addressing the challenge of poverty in a comprehensive manner. These constitute a policy package used to ensure poverty decline. These include measures designed to stimulate job creation including assistance to entrepreneurs involved in job-creating ventures and assistance to the unemployed who are battling poverty. The single most important driver of the decline in poverty is government’s social security assistance programme.87 From 2, 5 million beneficiaries in 1999 to just over 12 million in 2007, the social grant system is the largest form of government support for the poor. The largest by far is in the form of the Child Support Grant (CSG), which reached 7,8 million beneficiaries in 2007 compared to 34 000 in 1999. The table below shows the increase in the number of beneficiaries between 1997 and 2009. This trend has continued up to the present. The rapid expansion of the social security system lies at the heart of growth in expenditure levels of the poor. Table: Numbers of beneficiaries of social grants in 1997 and 2009 1997 2009 Old-age grant 1737 682 2 414 183 Disability grant 737 322 1 281 556 Child-support grant 362 631 8 825 824 Total 2 b37 635 12 521 568 85 Arden Finn, Murray Leibrandt & Eva Wegner, ‘Policies for reducing income inequality and poverty in South Africa’ at http://transformationaudit.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Chapter-4.pdf 86 Catherine Wijnberg, ‘Tackling youth unemployment in South Africa’. March 20, 2013. At http://www.ujuh.co.za/opinions/tackling-youth-unemployment-in-south-africa/ 87 Statistical data provided under social security, except where indicated otherwise, is obtained from the research commissioned by the Department of Public Service and Administration on poverty and inequality, as part of the APRM process. 105