13 May 2026
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) notes with serious concern the Quarterly Labour Force Survey figures released by Statistics South Africa today, which show that South Africa’s official unemployment rate increased to 32,7% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 31,4% in the fourth quarter of 2025. For FEDUSA, these figures confirm that South Africa’s unemployment crisis has long moved beyond a cyclical jobs problem. It is now a structural crisis of economic exclusion, weak labour absorption and declining confidence in the ability of the economy to create secure livelihoods at the scale required.
According to Stats SA, the number of employed persons fell by 345 000 to 16,8 million, while the number of unemployed persons increased by 301 000 to 8,1 million. The labour force also declined by 44 000, indicating that South Africa is not only losing jobs, but also losing active participation in the labour market. FEDUSA is particularly concerned by the increase in discouraged jobseekers, which rose by 178 000 to 3,9 million, while the broader potential labour force increased to 4,9 million. The total amount of people outside the labour force also increased to 17,3 million in the first quarter. This points to a deeper deterioration than the headline unemployment rate suggests. It shows a growing number of people who are available for work, close to the labour market, but increasingly pushed to its margins.
FEDUSA believes these figures should compel a more honest national conversation. South Africa is not simply failing to create enough jobs but also and more significantly is wasting human capability at mass scale, weakening household income, reducing worker bargaining power and shrinking the base of people who can participate meaningfully in the economy.
The contraction in both formal and informal employment is especially worrying. Formal sector employment decreased by 189 000, while informal sector employment declined by 127 000. This means the crisis is spreading across the economy, with neither formal employment nor informal livelihoods providing sufficient absorption. It also weakens the argument that informal economic activity can compensate for the failures of formal job creation. The sectoral losses are equally significant. The largest employment decreases were recorded in Community and social services, which lost 206 000 jobs, followed by Construction, which lost 110 000 jobs, and Transport, which lost 30 000 jobs. These sectors are central to public service delivery, infrastructure development, mobility and economic circulation. Job losses in these areas signal not only labour market weakness, but weakening capacity in sectors that should be central to recovery.
FEDUSA is also deeply concerned by the youth unemployment figures. The youth unemployment rate rose to 45,8%. This is one of the most serious indicators of long-term risk to South Africa’s social, economic and democratic stability. FEDUSA believes the response to these figures must be practical, measurable and employment-centred. The country must move beyond general commitments to job creation and adopt an employment test for major economic decisions, including budgets, infrastructure plans, procurement, industrial incentives, public sector restructuring and energy interventions. The central question must be whether these decisions protect existing jobs, create decent work and expand labour absorption. It is not enough to speak about future jobs while existing jobs are being lost at this scale.
Mass unemployment is now one of the central constraints on South Africa’s development. It suppresses wages, weakens bargaining power, increases dependency, erodes the tax base and places growing pressure on households and social protection systems. For FEDUSA, the QLFS Q1 figures confirm that unemployment is not only a problem for those outside work. It is a crisis affecting the entire working class.
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