The continuing rise in South Africa’s unemployment rate has led, once again, to dire warnings about the country’s future.
StatsSA reported that unemployment rose to 32.7% in the first quarter of this year, from 31.5% at the end of 2025. The expanded level, which incudes those who have stopped looking for work, worsened to 43.7%.
More than 10 million South Africans were out of work, with the highest rate among those aged 15 to 24. Youth unemployment rose to 60,9%, StatsSA said.
In the Daily Maverick, seasoned journalist Ed Stoddard pointed out that unemployment above 30% is “the new normal” for South Africa. The last time it was below 30% was in the second quarter of 2020.
“South Africa’s woeful unemployment situation is on a descent from terrible to Hell on Earth, a state of affairs that will exacerbate poverty and inequality and fan the flames of social unrest in a vicious cycle that will perpetuate this seemingly intractable challenge,” Stoddard commented.
He said worse was yet to come, with inflation and food prices expected to rise because of the Iran war, and looming jobs losses due to automation, digitisation and artificial intelligence.
“Higher inflation will hurt the jobless the most and also squeeze the budgets of households with people who have jobs and support several unemployed dependents.”
In Business Day, labour federation Cosatu described unemployment as “a ticking time bomb we dare not ignore”.
Trouble is, that time bomb has been ticking for decades. The ticking just gets louder every quarter, despite repeated promises to create thousands or even millions of jobs.
As always, it is the poor who suffer most, with child malnutrition rising as jobless and low-income parents struggle to feed their families.
