Job losses in South Africa: Unemployment hits 33.6% in second quarter
South Africa's unemployment rate has surged to 33.6% in Q2 2026, with 345,000 more people unemployed. This alarming trend has sparked urgent calls for economic reforms and a national jobs programme.
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. The province of KwaZulu-Natal saw its unemployment rate rise by 1.3% from 31.2% in the first quarter to 32.5% in the second quarter.
The number of employed people in KwaZulu-Natal increased by 3,000 from the previous quarter and 22,000 year-on-year. The unemployment rate in Cape Town increased from 21.4% to 21.9%, while eThekwini recorded employment growth, with the number of employed people increasing from 1,259 million in the first quarter to 1,290 million in the second quarter.
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