South Africa had 8.6 million unemployed people in the third quarter of 2026, 97,000 more than in the previous quarter, even as the number of employed people increased by 101,000. The figures come from Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), released on Tuesday, 10 November.
The official unemployment rate reached 33.7%, up from 33.6% in the second quarter. Total employment stood at 16.8 million. The labour force grew by 198,000 over the quarter, outpacing the increase in employment. A year earlier, in the third quarter of 2025, the official jobless rate had been 31.9%.
In Official unemployment rate, %
Source: Statistics South Africa, QLFS Q3 and Q4 2025 and Q1–Q3 2026; releases from November 2025 to November 2026.
| Official unemployment rate | |
|---|---|
| Q3 2025 | 31.9 |
| Q4 2025 | 31.4 |
| Q1 2026 | 32.7 |
| Q2 2026 | 33.6 |
| Q3 2026 | 33.7 |
Formal employment rises as informal jobs decline
Employment in the formal sector increased by 268,000 to 12.3 million. By contrast, informal-sector employment fell by 98,000, while private-household employment decreased by 68,000, according to the statistical agency.
By industry, finance added 111,000 jobs, manufacturing gained 33,000 and mining gained 31,000. Private households lost 68,000, agriculture lost 34,000 and construction lost 8,000 jobs.
In Quarterly change, thousands of people
Source: Statistics South Africa, QLFS Q3 2026, as reported by South Africa’s government information service on 10 November 2026.
| Net change in employment | |
|---|---|
| Finance | 111 |
| Manufacturing | 33 |
| Mining | 31 |
| Construction | -8 |
| Agriculture | -34 |
| Private households | -68 |
Nearly half of economically active young people are unemployed
Among people aged 15 to 34, the unemployment rate edged down from 47.4% in the second quarter to 47.3% in the third. About five million young people were unemployed and 5.5 million were in work. The number of unemployed young people fell by 23,000 from the previous quarter.
The number of discouraged jobseekers increased by 70,000 to 3.7 million. They are excluded from the official LU1 unemployment count. A broader measure including the potential labour force, known as LU3, stood at 44.0%, while the composite LU4 labour-underutilisation measure was 46.3%.
Provincial changes varied. Employment rose by 48,000 in the Western Cape and 45,000 in North West, but declined by 34,000 in Free State and 30,000 in Mpumalanga during the quarter.