South Africa Unemployment Rises to 33.6% — Youth Rate Hits 47.4%

South Africa's official unemployment rate rose to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, highlighting the continued pressure on one of the world's most challenging labour markets.

New figures from Statistics South Africa show that the number of unemployed people increased by 345,000 to 8.5 million compared with the first quarter.

Unemployment rises as more people enter the labour force

The unemployment rate increased by 0.9 percentage points from 32.7% in the first quarter to 33.6% in Q2.

At the same time, the labour force expanded by about 329,000 people, or 1.3%. Employment itself fell only slightly, declining by 16,000 to approximately 16.7 million employed people.

The data therefore shows that the increase in unemployment was not driven solely by large-scale job losses. More people also entered or returned to the labour market and began actively looking for work.

Youth unemployment climbs to 47.4%

The situation remains particularly difficult for younger job seekers.

Statistics South Africa reported that the number of unemployed people aged 15 to 34 increased by 264,000 to around 5 million during the quarter.

At the same time, youth employment declined by 40,000 to about 5.6 million. The youth unemployment rate consequently increased by 1.5 percentage points to 47.4%.

Trade and construction added jobs

Not every part of the economy moved in the same direction.

The largest quarterly employment increases were recorded in trade, which added around 70,000 jobs, followed by construction with approximately 39,000 additional workers. Finance added around 11,000 jobs.

Other industries moved in the opposite direction. Community and social services lost around 57,000 jobs, mining employment declined by 26,000, while agriculture and manufacturing each recorded decreases of roughly 15,000.

A wider measure shows even greater labour-market pressure

South Africa's official unemployment rate only includes people who meet the statistical definition of being unemployed and actively looking for work.

A broader labour-underutilisation measure, which also includes parts of the potential labour force, stood at 43.8% in the second quarter.

This gap illustrates the scale of unmet demand for work beyond the headline unemployment rate.

For employers, the figures also show that South Africa's labour market cannot be described by a single number. Some sectors continue to create opportunities even while unemployment remains exceptionally high nationally.