Statistics South Africa revealed that the proportion of jobless individuals in the country climbed to 33.7% during the third quarter of 2026, as reported by Nairametrics. The total number of unemployed workers reached 8.6 million, representing a 0.1 percentage point jump from the previous quarter. This increase in joblessness occurred alongside a rise in total employment, which grew by 101,000 to 16.8 million people. The agency’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey indicated that gains in formal employment were partially cancelled out by losses in informal businesses and private households.
Nairametrics detailed that the working-age population expanded by 117,000, a 0.3% increase, between the second and third quarters. Consequently, the overall labor force grew by 198,000, reflecting the simultaneous rise in both employed and unemployed individuals. The labor force participation rate also edged up by 0.3 percentage points to 59.9%. Meanwhile, the count of people outside the labor force dropped by 82,000 to 17 million, while the potential labor force rose by 69,000, driven primarily by an increase in discouraged work-seekers.
Employment growth was uneven across industries. The finance sector led with 111,000 new jobs, followed by manufacturing adding 33,000 and mining contributing 31,000. Conversely, private households saw the steepest decline with 68,000 fewer positions, followed by agriculture losing 34,000 and construction shedding 8,000. Formal employment rose by 268,000, whereas informal employment fell by 98,000 during the period. Sales and services occupations recorded the largest quarterly job increase, adding 131,000 positions.
The broader labor underutilisation rate held steady at 46.3% from the prior quarter, though it stood 1.4 points above the level seen in the same quarter of 2025. Nairametrics noted that the year-on-year comparison presents a weaker picture, with total employment falling by 215,000 compared with the third quarter of 2025. Unemployment rose by 571,000, or 7.1%, over the annual timeframe. The community and social services sector suffered the biggest annual drop, shedding 197,000 jobs, while finance posted the largest annual gain with 132,000 new roles.