South Africa's unemployment rate climbed to 33.6% in the second quarter as 345,000 more people became unemployed and youth joblessness worsened.
As unemployment soars to 33.6%, 345,000 South Africans face job losses, raising concerns about the country's economic stability.
South Africa's official unemployment rate climbed to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026 as the number of unemployed people increased by 345,000 and employment declined, underscoring the country's persistent labour market challenges.
Statistics South Africa's latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), released on Tuesday, showed the number of unemployed people rose to 8.5 million between April and June, while the number of employed people fell by 16,000 to 16.7 million. The labour force increased by 329,000 over the quarter as more people entered or returned to the job market.
The increase pushed the official unemployment rate up by 0.9 percentage points, from 32.7% in the first quarter of the year to 33.6%.
