JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose slightly to 33.7% in the third quarter of 2026, from 33.6% in the previous quarter.
According to Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, 101,000 more people found jobs, bringing the total number of employed people to 16.8 million.
However, the number of unemployed people also increased by 97,000 to 8.6 million.
The total number of people in the labour force increased by 198,000, or 0.8%, during the quarter.
The survey also found that the number of discouraged job-seekers -- people who have stopped looking for work -- increased by 70,000 to 3.7 million.
Meanwhile, the number of other people available for work decreased slightly by 1,000 to 860,000.
The number of people unavailable for work remained unchanged at 44,000.