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Young South Africans were again the worst affected as unemployment scaled higher in the second quarter of 2026, with community and social services, mining, agriculture and manufacturing sectors shedding the most jobs.
Just three months ahead of municipal elections, opposition parties were quick to pounce on the data from Statistics South Africa yesterday as a clear sign of the government’s failure to spur the economy towards the growth levels needed to get millions of citizens working.
The jobless rate jumped to 33.6% in the second quarter from 32.7% in the first three months of the year, with the number of unemployed people increasing by 345,000 to 8.5-million while the total of those with jobs fell by 16,000 to 16.7-million.
The number of unemployed young people aged 15 to 34 soared by 264,000 to 5-million, almost matching the total of employed youth, which fell by 40,000 to 5.6-million. As a result, the youth unemployment rate increased by 1.5 percentage points to 47.4% in the second quarter.
ActionSA laid blame for the malaise at the feet of the government of national unity (GNU) formed by President Cyril Ramaphosa after his ANC lost its three-decade-long outright parliamentary majority in the 2024 general elections.
“While millions of South Africans are unable to find work, the GNU remains consumed by internal battles, political horse-trading, and disagreements between its constituent parties,” ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said in a statement.
The DA said it would push for greater urgency and ambition in the economic reform agenda of the GNU.
“Economic reform is happening far too slowly to spur growth at the pace required to create jobs. Businesses and investors are still held back by red tape, unreliable basic services, failing ports and rail, and crime that makes it harder and more expensive to build, invest and employ people,” DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said.
Stemming the loss of jobs requires reinvigorating towns and cities where economic activity actually happens, as well as fixing the drivers of industrialisation, Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi said.
“We cannot industrialise or create sustainable jobs without getting the basics right. Water, energy, and freight logistics are the lifeblood of economic growth. When ports are congested, rail lines break down, water supply collapses, and energy remains precarious, industrial growth is impossible.”
Business Day
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