South Africa unemployment rate rises to 33.7% in Q3

Statistics South Africa reported that the country’s official unemployment rate rose to 33.7% in the third quarter of 2026, from 33.6% in the previous quarter, even as employment increased by 101,000. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey recorded 97,000 more unemployed people, bringing the total to about 8.6 million, while employment reached about 16.8 million.

The labour force grew by 198,000 during the quarter as more people were working or actively seeking work. The increase in unemployment therefore does not mean that 97,000 people all lost jobs: the figure also includes people who entered the labour market or began searching but did not find work.

Formal-sector employment rose by 268,000 to 12.3 million. That growth was partly offset by a decline of 98,000 in informal-sector employment and 68,000 in household-sector employment. By industry, finance added 111,000 jobs, manufacturing added 33,000 and mining added 31,000. Employment fell by 34,000 in agriculture and 8,000 in construction.

The survey also found that discouraged jobseekers increased by 70,000 to about 3.7 million. These are people who want to work but have stopped actively searching. The broader potential labour...