South Africa’s official unemployment rate increased to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, as the number of jobless people rose sharply, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). The combined effect pushed the labour force up by 329,000, resulting in the official unemployment rate, also known as Labour Underutilisation 1, rising by 0.9 percentage points from 32.7% in the first quarter to 33.6% in the second quarter. The survey also tracked broader measures of labour underutilisation, which provide a more comprehensive picture of labour market distress beyond the official unemployment rate. The broadest measure, the composite labour underutilisation rate (LU4), which includes unemployment, underemployment and the potential labour force, remained unchanged at 46.3% in the second quarter. The labour underutilisation indicators underscore the extent of labour market challenges facing South Africa, reflecting varying degrees of attachment to the labour market among millions of people who are unemployed, underemployed or have stopped actively searching for work.