The country lost 345 000 jobs in the first quarter of 2026 as unemployment climbed to 32.7%, exposing the gap between economic stabilisation and meaningful employment growth
It is also true that undocumented migration can create space for criminal activity. But we have to be honest: immigrants are not the main drivers of crime in this country. Data from the department of Correctional Services shows that foreign nationals make up around 11% to 14% of inmates, while South Africans make up the majority. So the idea that crime is mainly caused by immigrants is simply not true
This is what makes youth unemployment especially dangerous. A country in which nearly half of young work-seekers cannot find employment is not merely experiencing a cyclical downturn; it is confronting a structural failure at the point where economic participation should begin
The lived reality for women in South Africa is they get turned away at our police stations. They are told that domestic violence is a family matter. They are sent from one office to another. If they do actually get someone willing to open their case, the case files disappear into delay
The decline brings the official rate to its lowest level since the Covid-19 shock pushed unemployment above 30%
The Universal Basic Income Coalition said the government’s proposals to link the grant to employment-related conditions could exclude eligible beneficiaries
Advocacy group Women for Change argues that South Africa ‘cannot host the world’s most powerful leaders while a woman is killed every two-and-a-half hours’
For the millions of jobless people, this discussion is trivial
In 2022, the out-of-school rate was 10.54% for boys, compared with 8.17% for girls
April’s slight uptick suggests that the Reserve Bank will keep the benchmark repo rate at 7.5% next week
Jobs were lost in the formal sector, as well as in trade, construction and private households
Activity-based and experiential learning should be encouraged at school and tertiary institutions so that the academic curricula must align with new realities.
The South African Reserve Bank has warned of an upside risk to the inflation outlook
This is the lowest reading for inflation in South Africa since April 2021
With over 65% of South Africa’s population now living in cities, this shift has altered the landscape and dynamics of food security
Seeking professional financial advice can help mitigate the financial consequences of a separation
With joblessness at a two-year high of 33.5%, more effort is needed to restructure the jobs market
Joblessness increased for the third consecutive quarter, reaching its highest level in two years
Statistics South Africa data released on Wednesday showed that the CPI annual rate was 5.1% in June compared with 5.2% in May
A survey found that residential rental vacancies had dropped to their lowest level since 2016, as buying becomes less attainable
Still-sticky inflation could further delay long-awaited interest rate cuts
The economy did not benefit from the suspended load-shedding initiated in early April
The uptick is a result of more people entering the labour market
The transport and mining industries were the key contributors to fourth quarter GDP growth
A report suggests that government could save R150 billion in wasteful expenditure if it stopped overpaying its contractors
About 3.9 million people in South Africa are beneficiaries of the grant, which is currently at R2 080 per person a month
The country’s jobs data comes the day before the tabling of what looks to be another tightly managed budget
In this instalment of The Fiscal Cliff – a Mail & Guardian series on how South Africa’s budget has been shaped – Sarah Smit considers the intimate link between the country’s ultra-high unemployment rate and austerity
After the release of the December inflation data, Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said the Reserve Bank is likely to remain hawkish amid upside risks
World food and fuel costs have dropped but grocery prices at local supermarkets remain unaffordably high
The business community initially welcomed him. But the past five years have disappointed — and the private sector has only recently been given a turn at the economy’s steering wheel
The GDP decline comes despite an improvement in energy generation during the quarter, suggesting logistical constraints and interest rates are choking the economy