The South African Department of Employment and Labour has reported that 33,600 job seekers were placed in employment and other opportunities during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. This development comes as the country struggles with an unemployment rate of 33.6%. The department's Employment Services of South Africa (Essa) system had 456,094 unemployed job seekers registered during the first quarter.
The 33,600 placements included formal jobs, apprenticeships, project opportunities, and training opportunities. Limpopo had the highest number of placements at 8,688, followed by Gauteng with 7,238. Other provinces recorded lower numbers, with the Northern Cape at 1,613 and North West at 1,607, the lowest.
The unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in four years, according to Stats SA's Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the second quarter of 2026. The official unemployment rate increased from 32.7% in the first quarter to 33.6%. The number of unemployed people increased by 345,000 to 8.5-million, while the number of employed people decreased by 16,000 to 16.7-million.
Young people continue to bear a disproportionate share of the unemployment crisis. The number of unemployed people aged between 15 and 34 years old increased by 264,000 to 5-million between the first and second quarters. The youth unemployment rate increased by 1.5 percentage points to 47.4%, while the number of employed young people declined by 40,000 to 5.6-million.
Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth provided an update on the department's interventions to create permanent and sustainable employment. Meth said public employment services were offered free of charge and funded through the department's overall budget. The department aims to create 1-million work opportunities as part of its MTDP target, plus a further 1-million by its entities.
The department's targets for the 2026/27 financial year include placing 75,000 work seekers into employment opportunities and 130,000 job opportunities through its partnership with the National Pathway Management Network. The first-quarter figure of 33,600 represents about 45% of its annual target of placing 75,000 work seekers into employment opportunities.
Despite the placements, the department's response did not provide a breakdown of how many of the 33,600 placements were permanent jobs, as opposed to apprenticeships, project or training opportunities. This lack of detail raises questions about the sustainability of the jobs created and the department's strategy to address the unemployment crisis.
Key points
- The South African unemployment rate has climbed to 33.6%, with 8.5-million people unemployed.
- The department of employment and labour placed 33,600 job seekers in employment and other opportunities during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year.
- Young people aged between 15 and 34 years old account for 5-million of the unemployed, with a youth unemployment rate of 47.4%.
