Department of employment and labour warns of deepening jobs crisis after labour force survey results

The department of employment and labour has described the quarterly labour force survey for the second quarter of 2026 as a sobering reality check.

Released by Statistics South Africa on August 11, the data shows a labour market under sustained and intensifying pressure.

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Key indicators have worsened because of deep-seated structural rigidities, sluggish investment, low labour absorption capacity, and rising discouragement among job-seekers.

Far more people are entering the labour market than the economy can absorb, global economic uncertainty is adding further strain and clouding the medium-term employment outlook, and the continued exclusion of young people, the department said, is a national emergency that requires an urgent, co-ordinated response with sustained private-sector participation.

Job creation remains the government’s top priority.

The department called for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach that links economic, industrial, skills, and social policy. Provincial and local governments must act as frontline drivers of local economic development and investment.

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The department will immediately examine the hardest-hit sectors and strengthen co-ordination across all spheres of government and with business.

It urged that flagship programmes, such as Operation Vulindlela, the presidential employment stimulus, and active labour market policies, be scaled up and delivered with greater speed and accountability.

All employment initiatives must be tightly co-ordinated across national, provincial, and municipal levels to deliver lasting results for young people and the country.

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