Unemployment is **an *endemic*** problem in South Africa,... 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endemic

> 1b : characteristic of or prevalent in a particular field, area, or environment ·problems endemic to translation
 ·the self-indulgence endemic in the film industry

I think this would be a good word choice as it evokes the idea of a more localized problem rather than the term *epidemic* which has connotations of a more widespread problem.

Additionally, borrowing from it's more common use in reference to disease helps mark it as something that requires an active treatment and will not correct itself on its own.