South Africa's unemployment rate rises to 33.6%, a four-year high, in Q2 2026

South Africa's unemployment rate jumped to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, Statistics South Africa reported. This marked a rise of 345,000 people compared to the first quarter, with the total number of unemployed individuals reaching approximately 8.5 million. The province of KwaZulu-Natal saw its unemployment rate increase by 1.3%, reaching 32.5%.

KwaZulu-Natal's labour force grew by 3,000 during the quarter, but the number of employed people fell by 22,000 compared to the previous year. In eThekwini, employment increased by 30,000 jobs during the same period, while Cape Town experienced a decline of 19,000 jobs. Nationally, the unemployment rate rose from 32.7% to 33.6%, with the number of unemployed people increasing by 345,000.

Young people aged 15-24 were the most severely impacted, with 36.4% of this age group not in employment, education, or training, a 1.2% increase from the previous year. The decline was seen across multiple sectors, including manufacturing, which lost 100,000 jobs year-on-year, and community and social services, which lost 101,000 jobs.