Expanded unemployment measure hits 42,1%, among highest globally The labour force survey also revealed worsening conditions for young people, with youth unemployment climbing to 45.8%.
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South Africa’s unemployment crisis deepened in the first three months of 2026, with the official unemployment rate rising to 32.7% after the economy shed 345,000 jobs.
This is according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) on Tuesday.
The data shows that the number of employed people declined to 16.8 million during the first three months of the year, while the number of unemployed South Africans increased by 301,000 to 8.1 million.
This pushed the official unemployment rate up by 1.3 percentage points from 31.4% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The labour force survey also revealed worsening conditions for young people, with youth unemployment climbing to 45.8%. The number of unemployed youth between the ages of 15 and 34 increased by 181,000 to 4.7 million, while employed youth fell by 258,000 to 5.6 million.
Speaking during the release of the survey, StatsSA's deputy director for labour statistics, Kwena Marevhula, said the latest figures reflect deteriorating labour market conditions across the country.
“The results of the quarterly labour force survey for the first quarter of 2026 indicate that the working age population in South Africa currently stands at 42.2 million and the labour force which includes those who are employed and unemployed is 24.9 million,” Marevhula said.
She added that employment losses and rising unemployment contributed directly to the worsening unemployment rate.
“The number of employed persons decreased by 345,000 to 16.8 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 while the number of unemployed persons increased by 301,000 to 8.1 million. These changes in employment and unemployment resulted in the official unemployment rate increasing by 1.3 percentage points to 32.7%,” she said.
The survey showed that the number of people outside the labour force also continued to rise.
According to Stats SA, the number of people outside the labour market increased by 164,000 to 17.3 million in the first quarter. This includes discouraged work seekers and people who are available for work but not actively searching for employment.
New labour underutilisation indicators introduced by Stats SA painted an even bleaker picture of the labour market.
The combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment rose to 35.9%, while the combined rate of unemployment and the potential labour force climbed to 43.7%. The broad composite measure of labour underutilisation stood at 46.3%.
“These labour underutilization measures highlight people in different situations with different degrees of attachment to the labour market,” Marevhula said.
Job losses were concentrated in key sectors of the economy. Community and social services recorded the largest decline with 206,000 jobs lost, followed by construction with 110,000 and transport with 30,000 fewer jobs.
However, manufacturing added 38,000 jobs, mining gained 32,000 and agriculture increased employment by 10,000.
Employment declined in every province except KwaZulu-Natal, which added 6,000 jobs during the quarter. The biggest employment declines were recorded in North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
Marevhula noted that both formal and informal sector employment weakened during the quarter, underscoring the broad-based pressure facing South Africa’s labour market as economic growth remains sluggish.
The rate of unemployment in South Africa averaged 27.6% from 2000 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 35.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and a record low of 21.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008.
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