South Africa's unemployment rate currently stands at a whopping 35.3%, and it keeps getting higher. As a result, many people, especially the youth, are left desperately searching for alternative ways to make an income. And Forex trading has, over the past few years, become a popular solution. There are myriad reasons why forex trading is on the rise and why many are turning to it to battle unemployment. South Africa has a very young population. Unemployment is highest among the youth. Young people are usually very open-minded to trying out new things, and they have a lot of time on their hands. Forex is open to everyone and has high-income potential. So it's a no-brainer with many young people dropping out of college to focus solely on trading.
Up until today, many black people are generally educated only up until high school. That means the black population is more likely to be stuck with low-paying manual jobs.
Forex trading has people lured by the high-income potential. And everyone wants in because learning is easily accessible through YouTube. Once in the game and making some profits, one can always afford paid courses and upgrade and refine their trading skills. Now compare that option with paying for college and employment after studying is not guaranteed. For many young people in South Africa, college is not an option. It's either they cannot go to college because they cannot afford tuition or their grades are too low to get admitted.
Furthermore, those that make it forex trading live flashy lives and flaunt it all on social media. Social media, in turn, gets more people rushing into forex under the impression that it is a get-rich-quick scheme. You can imagine being unemployed and seeing your old school buddies living the life and driving flashy cars. Surely it will get one curious enough to give trading a try.
Given all the points discussed above, one can safely conclude that the rise in forex trading was in part due to the high levels of unemployment among the youth.
