South Africa struggles with unemployment

South Africa’s unemployment rate has risen to 33.6 percent in the second quarter of 2026, with the latest figures showing an increase in the number of unemployed people and a decline in employment.

According to data from Statistics South Africa, the unemployment rate increased by 0.9 percentage points from 32.7 percent in the first quarter to 33.6 percent in the second quarter.

However, the number of unemployed people increased by 345,000 to 8.5 million, while the number of employed people decreased by 16,000 to 16.7 million during the period.

The data further shows that the number of discouraged job-seekers decreased by 227,000 to 3.7 million, while other available job-seekers declined by 49,000 to 861,000.

Meanwhile, people outside the labour force for other reasons increased by 72,000 to 12.5 million, although the overall number of people outside the labour force decreased by 208,000 to 17.1 million.