Feeble growth behind steadily worsening unemployment rate – IRR

Formal employment has fallen year on year for ten quarters in a row, and the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) says the root cause is an economy that has barely grown.

Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Employment Statistics show there were 95,000 fewer formal non-agricultural jobs in June 2026 than in June 2025. That marks the tenth consecutive quarterly year-on-year decline – each quarter since early 2024 has had fewer formal jobs than the same quarter a year earlier.  

Those losses follow the economy – Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.4% in 2024 and 1.1% in 2025, and shrank in the second quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, the working-age population is growing by about half a million people a year.

Says Anlu Keeve, IRR Economic Policy Analyst and Research Coordinator: “New jobs come from businesses that are growing. Formal businesses have been shedding jobs for two and a half years, while millions look for work. Getting the economy growing is the only route to work for the millions looking for it.”

The government has known this for years. Its 2012 National Development Plan (NDP) said the economy had to grow by 5.4% a year to cut unemployment to 6% and lift employment to 24 million by 2030. Growth has averaged about 1% since. Unemployment stands at 33.6%, and about 16.7 million people have jobs.

Growth needs investment, and investment has stalled at about 15% of GDP, half of the 30% the NDP called for. Businesses put their money where the rules make it worth their while.

Keeve concludes: “Growth is the best jobs programme South Africa could have. Until we free up the economy, we won’t see much change in the employment numbers.”

Media contact: Anlu Keeve IRR Economic Policy Analyst and Research Coordinator Tel: 071 929 9516 Email: anlu@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris IRR Head of Media Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za