South Africa's official unemployment rate edged up to 33.7% in the third quarter of 2026, from 33.6% in the second quarter, according to Statistics South Africa's Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), released on Tuesday.

The survey shows employment grew by 101,000 to about 16.8 million people, but the number of unemployed people also rose, by 97,000 to about 8.6 million, because the labour force grew by 198,000.

What the numbers show

The 33.7% rate is a small increase on the 33.6% recorded in the second quarter, which itself followed 32.7% in the first quarter of the year, according to Stats SA's earlier releases.

  • Employed: about 16.8 million, up 101,000 on the second quarter.
  • Unemployed: about 8.6 million, up 97,000.
  • Labour force: up 198,000, or 0.8%.
  • Discouraged work-seekers: up 70,000 to about 3.7 million.

Where jobs were gained and lost

Stats SA's figures show a split between formal and informal work. Formal-sector employment rose by 268,000 to about 12.3 million, while the informal sector lost 98,000 jobs and private households lost 68,000.

Finance, manufacturing and mining added jobs in the quarter. The largest declines were in private households, agriculture and construction. By province, the largest employment increases were in the Western Cape, North West, Eastern Cape and Gauteng, while employment fell in the Free State and Mpumalanga.

Young people

The youth unemployment rate edged down by 0.1 of a point to 47.3%, with about five million people aged 15 to 34 unemployed. The fall does not reflect more young people finding work: youth employment declined by 5,000, and the number of unemployed young people fell by 23,000.

What we do not yet know

We have not yet confirmed the expanded unemployment rate, provincial unemployment rates or the year-on-year comparison against the third quarter of 2025 from the full Stats SA release. We will update this report once those figures are checked.

What happens next

The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee is due to announce its next interest rate decision on 19 November, according to the Bank's published calendar. President Cyril Ramaphosa is also expected to answer questions in the National Council of Provinces on Thursday, with youth unemployment among the topics Parliament has said he will face.