South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 32.7% in the first quarter, according to Statistics South Africa.
The 0.9 percentage-point increase was driven by a rise in the number of unemployed people, which climbed by 345,000 to 8.5 million during the quarter.
At the same time, employment fell by 16,000 to 16.7 million, pointing to continued weakness in the country’s labour market.
Statistics South Africa said the number of discouraged job-seekers declined by 227,000 to 3.7 million, while other available job-seekers fell by 49,000 to 861,000. Unavailable job-seekers decreased by 4,000 to 44,000.
These changes resulted in a net decline of 280,000 in the potential labour force, bringing it to 4.6 million in the second quarter.
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 declined by 208,000 to 17.1 million during the quarter.
The latest figures highlight the persistent challenge facing South Africa’s economy, where unemployment remains above one-third of the labour force despite efforts to expand job creation.
