Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has revealed that South Africa’s official unemployment rate has increased by 0.9 percentage point from 32.7% in the first quarter of 2026 to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026.
“There was an increase of 345,000 in the number of unemployed persons to 8.5 million, while there was a decrease of 16,000 in the number of employed persons to 16.7 million compared with the first quarter of 2026. This resulted in an increase of 329,000 (or 1.3%) in the labour force during the same period.”
“The above changes in employment and unemployment resulted in the official unemployment rate (Labour Underutilisation [LU1]) increasing by 0.9 percentage point from 32.7% in the first quarter of 2026 to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026,” Stats SA said.
Sector stats
The increases in industry employment were mainly recorded in Trade (70,000), Construction (39,000) and Finance (11,000). The largest decreases in employment were recorded in Community and social service (57,000), Mining (26,000), Agriculture and Manufacturing (15,000 each).
The number of persons employed in the formal sector and household sector decreased by 41,000 and 9,000, respectively, in the second quarter of 2026, and in the informal sector increased by 34,000 over the same period.
On youth unemployment
Young people bore the brunt of the employment crisis, with the total number of unemployed youth aged 15 to 34 increasing by 264 000 to 5.0 million compared with the first quarter of 2026.
Employed youth recorded a decrease of 40 000 to 5.6 million, resulting in the youth unemployment rate increasing by 1.5 percentage points to 47.4% in the second quarter of 2026. Approximately 36.4% of youth aged 15 to 24 were not in employment, education or training in the second quarter, an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to the same period in 2025.
The survey also showed that discouraged job-seekers decreased by 227 000 to 3.7 million, while other available job-seekers decreased by 49 000 to 861 000. This resulted in a net decrease of 280 000 to 4.6 million in the potential labour force.
Provincial stats
Mpumalanga (41,000), Eastern Cape (13,000) and Free State (9,000) were provinces that observed the highest increases in employment. Decreases in employment were recorded in Western Cape (48,000), Gauteng (22,000) and North-West (15,000).
“The results for the second quarter of 2026 show that the total number of unemployed youth (15-34 years) increased by 264,000 to 5.0 million compared with quarter one of 2026, while employed youth recorded a decrease of 40,000 to 5.6 million. As a result, the youth unemployment rate increased by 1.5 percentage points to 47.4% in the second quarter of 2026,” Stats SA said.
