The South Africa unemployment rate rose to 33.7% in the third quarter of 2026, up from 33.6% in the second quarter, in figures released on Tuesday, 10 November 2026.
According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), its Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) found that the number of unemployed people rose by 97 000 to 8.6 million, while employment increased by 101 000 to 16.8 million. The labour force grew by 198 000, or 0.8%. Stats SA deputy director Dimakatso Maloka said:
The main industries that contributed to the increase in employment were finance, manufacturing, and mining.
Where were the jobs added in the South Africa unemployment rate data?
Formal sector employment rose by 268 000 to 12.3 million, but the informal sector shed 98 000 jobs and private households lost 68 000. Agriculture cut 34 000 jobs and construction 8 000. Finance added 111 000 jobs, manufacturing 33 000 and mining 31 000. Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said:
The largest employment gains were recorded in finance, followed by manufacturing, followed by mining.
Employment rose, but the labour force grew by 198 000 against 101 000 additional jobs, and that gap of 97 000 matches the increase in the number of unemployed people. The QLFS is a household survey that Stats SA runs every quarter to measure employment and unemployment across the country.
Employment rose in four provinces: Western Cape by 48 000, North West by 45 000, Eastern Cape by 36 000 and Gauteng by 25 000. It fell in the Free State by 34 000 and in Mpumalanga by 30 000. The Western Cape recorded the largest provincial increase.
How does the South Africa unemployment rate look on broader measures?
The official rate counts people who are without work, are available to work and have looked for a job in the survey period. Stats SA also reports an expanded rate, which adds people who want work but have stopped looking. That expanded rate stood at 44% in the third quarter of 2026.
The number of discouraged work-seekers, who have given up looking, rose by 70 000 to 3.7 million. Stats SA put the potential labour force, which covers people outside the official count who want to work, at 4.6 million.
The participation rate, which shows the share of the working-age population that is in the labour force, was 59.9%. The composite measure of labour underutilisation, which combines unemployment, time-related underemployment and the potential labour force, was 46.3%.
Unemployment among young people moved in the opposite direction to the overall rate. Stats SA defines youth as people aged 15 to 34, and the number of unemployed young people fell by 23 000 to 5.0 million, according to the same release.
What does the South Africa unemployment rate mean year on year?
The rate was 31.9% in the third quarter of 2025, which makes the latest figure 1.8 percentage points higher than a year earlier. The next Stats SA labour force release, covering the fourth quarter of 2026, is due in February 2027.
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