SA’s unemployment rate jumps to 32.7 percent as 345,000 jobs are lost

Thabiso Tema, POWER BREAKFAST host, speaks to Solly Molayi, Acting DDG of Population and Social Statistics at Statistics South Africa, and Dr Dick Forslund, senior economist and researcher at the Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC) and member of Zabalaza for Socialism, about how South Africa’s unemployment crisis has deepened significantly in the first quarter of 2026, with the official unemployment rate rising to 32.7% after the economy shed 345,000 jobs over a three-month period, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa. The figures have renewed concerns about economic growth, job creation, and the worsening cost-of-living crisis facing millions of South Africans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.