Hundreds, if not thousands, flock to the taxi ranks at Alex Mall and Pan Africa Shopping Centre every morning, forming part of the daily rush of people chasing their dreams of a better life.

Yet for hundreds more, the day begins very differently at home, sending CV after CV into the digital void, refreshing email inboxes, and staring at silent phones in desperation.

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Every day, these residents of Alexandra witness both the morning rush of the employed and the afternoon return of the hopeful, while their long hours in between are consumed by the emotional toll of unemployment.

This is, according to Mush Raletjena, founder and leader of the SA Job Seekers Movement, the daily reality in Alexandra, and it mirrors the sobering picture painted by Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) latest quarterly labour force survey (QLFS) for the first quarter of 2026.

The official unemployment rate went up to 32.7% from 31.4% in the previous quarter. The economy shed 345 000 jobs, pushing the total number of unemployed South Africans to 8.1 million.

Stats SA revealed that the burden falls heaviest on young people, as the unemployment rate for those aged 15–24 stands at 60.9%, while the rate for those aged 25-34 stands at 40.6%.

Raletjena, who for years has had a front-row seat to this crisis in Alex, expressed no surprise at the worsening situation revealed by the QLFS figures. “At the SA Job Seekers Movement, we receive over 20 CVs and WhatsApp requests daily from job seekers in Alexandra. The numbers reflect exactly what we see on the ground. More people are struggling to find work, and opportunities are becoming fewer.”

He added that he is particularly concerned about the systemic barriers confronting young South Africans. He believes the job market itself often works against local youth. “Unemployment in South Africa is largely a systemic challenge.

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My main concern is that the job market is not fair to South African job seekers. Many opportunities seem more accessible to non-South Africans, while local youth continue to struggle despite being qualified and willing to work.”

Raletjena said that many job seekers have become despondent after months, and in some cases years, of searching without success.

Despite the challenges, SA Job Seekers’ imisebenzi yethu door-to-door campaigns, continue to restore hope in the community. “Our goal is to connect job seekers directly with opportunities, provide guidance, and restore hope where it has been lost.”

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