South Africa’s unemployment rate has risen to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with 345 000 more people joining the ranks of the unemployed as employment continued to decline, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics South Africa yesterday.
The latest survey, shows a mixed employment picture across the country’s major economic centres, with Cape Town shedding 19 000 jobs between the first and second quarters while eThekwini recorded employment growth.
KwaZulu-Natal’s unemployment rate rose by 1.3% from 31.2% in the first quarter to 32.5% in the second quarter-this rate includes discouraged job seekers. The province had 2 725 million employed people, up by 3 000 from the previous quarter and 22 000 year-on-year.
While the province's labour force grew during the quarter, the number of people in work actually fell.
In eThekwini, employment increased from 1 259 million in the first quarter to 1 290 million in the second quarter, a gain of 30 000 jobs. The metro also recorded 90 000 more employed people compared with the same period last year. Its unemployment rate stood at about 21.2% in the second quarter.
