Urgent action needed as youth unemployment rises to 47.4%
With almost half of South Africa’s young people unemployed, there have been calls for urgent and far-reaching action to tackle what has been described as a “worsening national crisis”.
Recent data from Statistics South Africa's Labour Force Survey reveals that youth unemployment in South Africa has risen to a staggering 47.4%, with nearly half of the country's young people unable to find employment. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 to 34 increased from 45.9% in the first quarter of 2026 to 47.4% in the second quarter, while youth employment fell by 40,000 to 5.6 million.
Overall unemployment in the nation also climbed from 32.7% to 33.6% during the same period, with the number of unemployed people rising by 345,000 to 8.5 million and employment declining by 16,000 to 16.7 million.
Aqeel Madhi, chairperson of the Active Citizens Movement Youth Subcommittee, expressed concern over the severity of the situation, citing a decade-long upward trend in youth unemployment. Madhi highlighted inefficient government implementation, societal failures, and a lack of urgency as the main factors contributing to the rise. He emphasized that the crisis demands collective action from all South Africans, as the well-being of the nation and economy depends on the youth.
Obakeng Kgatshe, Youth Leadership and Activism Programme Manager at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, described the surge in youth unemployment as a severe socio-economic emergency, noting that it signals the exclusion of young people from economic participation, posing a threat to democratic values and the dignity of the youth. Kgatshe identified slow economic growth, prohibitive costs of living, ineffective education systems, and geographic isolation as key drivers of the increase in youth unemployment.
He called for a cross-cutting economic priority, mainstreaming youth employment as a core metric and urged businesses to invest in local youth development and scrap unrealistic entry-level requirements.
The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) emphasized that addressing South Africa's youth unemployment crisis requires structural economic transformation and job-creating growth. Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, stressed the importance of young people participating actively in shaping solutions to their unemployment issues, stressing that exclusion from meaningful economic participation threatens their freedom and democracy.
Sanele Zondo, chairperson of the IFP Youth Brigade and member of parliament, also highlighted the fragility of South Africa's economic growth in absorbing new labour market entrants, attributing the rise in youth unemployment to mismatches between skills acquired and labour market demands.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
