More South Africans hunt for jobs that are not there

By Palesa Matlala

• Another 345,000 people joined the unemployment queue during the second quarter, pushing South Africa’s official unemployment rate up to 33.6%.

• South Africa had 16.7 million employed people during the quarter, but the number of people with jobs fell by 16,000.

South Africa’s jobs crisis is getting worse.

Another 345,000 people joined the unemployment queue during the second quarter of 2026, taking the total number of unemployed people to 8.5 million.

New figures from Statistics South Africa show that the official unemployment rate increased from 32.7% in the first quarter to 33.6% in the second quarter.

That is an increase of 0.9 percentage points.

While more South Africans were looking for work, the number of people who actually had jobs went backwards.

Employment fell by 16,000 during the quarter, leaving about 16.7 million people employed.

At the same time, the country’s labour force grew by 329,000 people.

This means more people entered the job market, but the economy did not create enough jobs to absorb them.

The figures paint a difficult picture for millions of South Africans who are searching for work.

There was some movement among people who had previously given up looking for jobs.

The number of discouraged job seekers dropped by 227,000 to about 3.7 million.

These are people who want to work but have stopped actively looking for jobs.

Other people who were available for work but were not actively searching decreased by 49,000 to 861,000.

Unavailable job seekers dropped by 4,000 to 44,000.

Together, the potential labour force decreased by 280,000 to about 4.6 million.

The number of people outside the labour force for other reasons increased by 72,000 to 12.5 million.

Overall, the number of people outside the labour force dropped by 208,000 to about 17.1 million.

But the broader unemployment numbers show just how serious South Africa’s jobs problem remains.

When unemployed people and those who do not have enough hours of work are counted together, the rate increased to 36.6%.

The broader measure, which also includes people who are available for work but are not currently searching, stood at 46.3%.

This means almost half of South Africa’s extended labour force is either unemployed, does not have enough work or is available for work but not actively searching.

Independent economist John Loos said several economic pressures may have hurt confidence around job creation.

He pointed to higher inflation, rising fuel prices and an interest rate increase.

“On the one hand, we had a little bit of lift in GDP growth in the first quarter, but on the other hand, in the second quarter, we had inflation surging because of fuel price surging,” Loos said.

He also pointed to the interest rate hike at the May Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

The latest figures show that South Africa faces a major challenge as more people enter the labour market looking for opportunities.

The problem is no longer only about finding work for those who have been unemployed for years.

The economy also needs to create enough new jobs for people entering the labour market for the first time.

With 8.5 million people officially unemployed and employment falling during the quarter, South Africa’s economy is still not creating jobs quickly enough for everyone who needs one.

Pictured above: Millions of South Africans continue searching for work as the country’s official unemployment rate climbs to 33.6%.

Image source: File.