A total of 8 million South Africans are jobless, bringing the country’s unemployment rate for the first quarter (Q1) of 2026 to 32.7%.

This is according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), a household-based sample survey conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) and released today (Tuesday) by the statistician-general of South Africa, Risenga Maluleke.

The report presents key findings of the QLFS conducted from January to March this year (Q1: 2026) based on the Q3: 2025 updated questionnaire.

The official unemployment rate increased by 1.3 percentage points in Q1: 2026 compared with Q4: 2025.

Maluleke noted that the official unemployment rate increased in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces, with the largest increases recorded in Mpumalanga (4.0 %), followed by Limpopo (3.5%) and the Northern Cape (3.3%).

Maluleke said the only decrease in the unemployment rate was recorded in KZN (1.1%).

“There were some 10.3 million young people (15–24 years) in Q1: 2026, of which 37.6% were not in employment, education or training (NEET). This is 0.5 of a percentage point higher than the NEET rate in Q1: 2025,” said Maluleke.

“In this age group, the NEET rate for women increased by 1.7 percentage points, while the rate for men decreased by 0.7 of a percentage point. The NEET rate for women was higher than that of their male counterparts in both years,” he said.

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