JOHANNESBURG, May 12 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's official unemployment rate rose from 31.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 32.7 percent in the first quarter of 2026, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Tuesday.
Stats SA released the latest Quarterly Labor Force Survey, which showed that the number of employed people decreased by 345,000 to 16.8 million during the first quarter of the year, while the number of unemployed people increased by 301,000 to 8.1 million compared with the previous quarter.
"The number of persons employed in the formal sector decreased by 189,000, and those employed in the informal sector decreased by 127,000," said Kwena Marevhula, Stats SA's deputy director for labor statistics, adding that the decline in employment was mainly driven by losses in community and social services, which shed 206,000 jobs, followed by construction with 110,000 job losses and transport with 30,000.
Meanwhile, employment gains were recorded in several sectors, including manufacturing, which added 38,000 jobs, mining with 32,000, and agriculture with 10,000, Marevhula said.
The survey also highlighted worsening youth unemployment. The number of unemployed youths aged between 15 and 34 increased by 181,000 to 4.7 million, while employed youths declined by 258,000 to 5.6 million. ■
