FX.co ★ South Africa Jobless Rate Hits Over 4-Year High

South Africa’s unemployment rate inched up to 33.7% in Q3 2026 from 33.6% in Q2, reaching its highest level since Q2 2022. The number of unemployed people rose by 1.1% to 8.578 million, while the number of employed people increased by 0.6% to 16.840 million. As a result, the labor force expanded by 0.8% to 25.418 million, pushing the labor force participation rate up by 0.3 percentage points to 59.9%.

Formal sector employment grew by 2.2% to 12.340 million, whereas employment in the informal sector fell by 2.7% to 3.476 million. Of the 10 main industries, seven recorded employment gains, led by finance (+111,000), manufacturing (+33,000), and mining (+31,000). In contrast, job losses were registered in private households (-68,000), agriculture (-34,000), and construction (-8,000).

Under the expanded definition of unemployment, which includes discouraged job-seekers, the unemployment rate increased to 44% from 43.8% in the previous quarter. Youth unemployment, covering job-seekers aged 15 to 24, climbed to 63.6% in Q3, its highest level since Q1 2022, up from 62.8% in Q2.