Unemployment in South Africa
South Africa's unemployment rate over the last decade was consistently among the highest in the world, reflecting long-standing economic challenges. Structural issues, including skill mismatches and labor market rigidities, contributed to high unemployment rates, particularly among the youth. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges, leading to record unemployment levels. Despite some economic recovery post pandemic, unemployment remains a critical issue, compounded by economic inequality and a sluggish growth rate.
In the year 2024, the unemployment in South Africa was 32.60%, compared to 25.10% in 2014 and 32.38% in 2023. It averaged 29.31% over the last decade. For more unemployment information, visit our dedicated page.
South Africa Unemployment Chart
Note: This chart displays Unemployment Rate for South Africa from 2014 to 2024.
Source: Macrobond.
South Africa Unemployment Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment (% of active population, aop) | 29.2 | 34.3 | 33.5 | 32.4 | 32.6 |
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects South African unemployment projections for the next ten years from a panel of 12 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable unemployment forecast available for South African unemployment.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our South African unemployment projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of South African unemployment forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.