South Africa's latest quarterly labour force survey report for the second quarter of 2025 places it in an inevitable position of being a country with one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.
The StatsSA report shows the official rate climbing to 33.2%, with more than 8.3 million people actively looking for work. Under the expanded definition, which includes jobseekers who have given up, the figure is a staggering 42.9%.
These numbers are not just cold statistics; they are the daily reality for millions of households. Behind each percentage point lies a person, a parent skipping meals so that their children can eat, a graduate sending out CVs without getting replies, a young adult watching their dreams die.
The youth are the hardest hit. Among 15–24-year-olds, more than six in ten are unemployed. This is a ticking time bomb. A country that denies opportunities to its youngest citizens is sabotaging its own future. When work is scarce, desperation fills the gap, making crime an alluring alternative for many.
It is no surprise that unemployment remains persistently racialised: Black Africans face rates around 37%, while white South Africans experience roughly 7-8%. This mirrors the economic inequalities entrenched by apartheid and deepened by decades of sluggish growth.
It is difficult to understand why the ANC government continues to hold on to its rigid economic policies that have failed to grow the economy above 1.1% per year in the past 16 years.
The deleterious neoliberal policies are not working. South Africa needs structural reform, skills development that matches job market needs, support for small businesses, and a functioning energy system.
The most tragic consequence of this crisis is psychological. Prolonged joblessness erodes confidence, dignity and hope and takes away agency of the unemployed. It infantilises capable adults, leaving them dependent on family, social grants, or crime to survive.
It's a dehumanising situation that snuffs out adult experience.
The question is no longer whether we can afford to act. It is whether we can survive if we don’t.