The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has revealed an increase in the country's unemployment rate during the first quarter of 2024. The official unemployment rate escalated to 32.9%, up by 0.8 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2023.

According to South African Government News Agency, the number of unemployed individuals rose by 330,000 to a total of 8.2 million in the period from January to March 2024. Concurrently, the number of employed persons saw a slight increase of 22,000, reaching 16.7 million. The survey also reported a decrease in the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement, which fell by 214,000 to 13.1 million, while the count of discouraged work-seekers dropped by 1,000.

The results further indicated changes in employment sectors, with the formal sector adding 56,000 jobs, while the informal sector saw a decrease of 100,000 jobs in the same quarter. Significant employment gains were seen in the trade, manufacturing, and private households sectors, while losses were observed in community and social services, construction, finance, and utilities.

Regionally, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Northern Cape experienced increases in employment, whereas Western Cape, North West, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo saw declines. The youth unemployment rate, covering individuals aged 15 to 34, increased notably by 1.3 percentage points to 45.5%, with the total number of unemployed youth rising by 236,000 to 4.9 million.