Data released by Statistics South Africa points to a reduction in both formal and informal sector employment, which dropped by 189 000 and 127 000 respectively.
The quarterly labour force survey revealed that the official unemployment rate rose by 1.3 from 31.4 in the last quarter of 2025 to 32.7 in the first quarter of this year .
Unemployment increased in all the countrys provinces except KwaZulu-Natal, while the highest unemployment numbers were recorded in the North West and Eastern Cape.
