South Africa’s unemployment rate climbed to its highest level since 2022 in the second quarter, official data showed. The figures highlight how improved investor confidence in the two years since the coalition government took office has been undercut by a deteriorating labor market.
More than 340,000 people joined the ranks of the unemployed between April and June, pushing the total number of jobless to 8.5 million, an unemployment rate of 33.6%. Youth unemployment rose to 47%. The data punctures the positive market response that followed the formation of the coalition government, which included the country’s first ratings upgrades in 20 years and being removed from a global financial watchdog’s “gray list” of countries under heightened scrutiny.
Economic hardship is spilling directly into politics as parties campaign ahead of municipal elections in November. In major urban centers, persistent joblessness has fueled a resurgence of anti-migrant rhetoric and vigilante violence targeting foreigners from neighboring African states, who are frequently accused of taking jobs and overloading local services.
