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By Anita Dangazele
- 36.4% of South Africans aged 15 to 24 are not in employment, education or training, Stats SA’s latest figures show.
- Youth unemployment (ages 15 to 34) rose to 47.4% in the second quarter of 2026, meaning almost one in two young job-seekers can’t find work.
More than a third of young South Africans have fallen out of the system entirely, not working, not studying, not in any kind of training.
Stats SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the second quarter of 2026 found that 36.4% of people aged 15 to 24, out of roughly 10.4 million young people in that age group, are not in employment, education or training. That figure is often shortened to “NEET,” and it’s risen 1.2 percentage points in a single quarter.
For those young people who are actively looking for work, the picture isn’t much better. Youth unemployment, covering everyone aged 15 to 34, climbed to 47.4% in the same quarter, up from 45.8% just three months earlier. That means almost one in every two young people trying to find a job in South Africa right now cannot get one.
Nationally, the official unemployment rate rose to 33.6%, up from 32.7% the previous quarter, with the number of unemployed people increasing by 345,000 to 8.5 million. Employment actually fell slightly over the same period, down by 16,000 to 16.7 million people.
Women are carrying a heavier share of this burden. Female unemployment stood at 37.5% in the second quarter, compared to 30.3% for men. The number of unemployed women rose by 219,000 in just three months, and by 224,000 compared to the same time last year.
The National Youth Development Agency called the figures a sign of a deeper problem than individual young people lacking skills or experience.
“It reflects an economy that is not creating enough employment opportunities to absorb the number of young people who are ready and willing to work,” the agency said.
Stats SA’s next set of figures, covering the third quarter of 2026, is expected in November.
Pictured above: A large number of jobseekers reportedly gathered in Epping, Cape Town, to hand in CVs.
Image source: Facebook
