By Lebone Rodah Mosima
The Budget Justice Coalition (BJC) says South Africa’s unemployment crisis now affects about 13 million people, including the unemployed, underemployed and discouraged work-seekers, under the expanded definition of unemployment.
The coalition raised alarm over the latest first-quarter 2026 labour market figures, which showed the official unemployment rate rising from 31.4% to 32.7%, while the broader labour underutilisation rate increased from 45.7% to 46.3%.
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“Our unemployment rates represent, to a significant and incontrovertible degree, a direct failure of fiscal policy,” the BJC said.
The coalition said government had failed to place large-scale job creation at the centre of economic policy and instead continued to prioritise fiscal consolidation and investor confidence over employment creation.
“As a Coalition, we have long called for government to place large-scale job creation at the centre of economic policy; this requires
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