South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026 from 32.7% in the first quarter, marking the highest level since the second quarter of 2022. The number of unemployed people increased by 4.2% to 8.481 million, while employment edged down 0.1% to 16.739 million. The labor force expanded by 1.3% to 25.220 million, even as the participation rate slipped to 59.6%.
The potential labor force—those available for work but not actively seeking it, or seeking work but currently unavailable—declined by 280,000 to 4.571 million. At the same time, the number of people outside the labor force for other reasons rose by 72,000 to 12.519 million.
Indicators of labor underutilization deteriorated further. The combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment climbed to 36.6% from 35.9%. The composite measure that adds the potential labor force to the unemployed inched up to 43.8% from 43.7%, while the broadest gauge of labor underutilization remained unchanged at 46.3%.
