South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 32.7% in Q1 2026, up from 31.4% in Q4 2025. The number of unemployed people increased by 301,000 to 8.137 million, while employment declined by 345,000 to 16.754 million. The labor force participation rate fell to 59.0%, its lowest level since 2022.
The potential labor force—those either available for work but not seeking it, or seeking work but currently unavailable—increased by 240,000 to 4.851 million. By contrast, the number of people outside the labor force for other reasons fell by 75,000 to 12.447 million, bringing the total number of people outside the labor force to 17.298 million.
Broader indicators of labor underutilization also deteriorated. The combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment rose by 1.6 percentage points to 35.9%, while the combined rate of unemployment and the potential labor force increased by the same margin to 43.7%. The composite measure of labor underutilization—which captures time-related underemployment, unemployment, and the potential labor force—climbed by 1.8 percentage points to 46.3%.
