South Africa’s unemployment crisis deepened in the first quarter of 2026, with the official jobless rate climbing to 32.7%.

Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows the rate rose by 1.3 percentage points from 31.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The number of employed people fell by 345,000 to 16.8 million between January and March. At the same time, the number of unemployed people increased by 301,000 to 8.1 million.

Stats SA said these shifts pushed the country’s official unemployment rate higher, reversing the decline recorded at the end of 2025.

Youth Take Another Hit

Young South Africans were among the hardest hit.

According to Stats SA, the number of unemployed youth aged 15 to 34 increased by 181,000 to 4.7 million in the first quarter.

A further 258,000 young people lost their jobs during the same period, bringing the number of employed youth down to 5.6 million.

This pushed the youth unemployment rate up by 2 percentage points to 45.8%. Put simply, nearly one in two young people looking for work could not find a job.

Key Sectors Shed Jobs

The job losses were spread across most of the economy.

Stats SA said employment fell in seven of the ten industries measured in the survey. Community and social services recorded the steepest drop, losing 206,000 jobs.

Construction shed 110,000 jobs, while transport lost 30,000. Private households also recorded a decline of 28,000 jobs.

There were some gains. Manufacturing added 38,000 jobs, mining gained 32,000 and agriculture increased employment by 10,000.

More People Lose Hope

The broader picture is even tougher.

Stats SA said discouraged job seekers increased by 178,000 to 3.9 million. These are people who want to work but have stopped looking because they do not believe jobs are available.

The number of people outside the labour force increased by 164,000 to 17.3 million.

Stats SA’s broader measure, which includes unemployed people and the potential labour force, rose to 43.7%. Its composite labour underutilisation rate stood at 46.3%.

The figures show a labour market under heavy strain, with young people carrying a major share of the pressure.