South Africa Loses 95,000 Formal Jobs in a Year: Stats SA
Quick answer: Stats SA's Quarterly Employment Statistics, released on 29 September 2026, show South Africa's formal non-agricultural sector lost 14,000 jobs between March and June 2026, taking employment to 10.425 million. Over the year to June, 95,000 jobs were lost. Manufacturing shed the most jobs; community services added the most.
Key Takeaways
Formal non-agricultural employment fell by 14,000 (0.1%) to 10.425 million between March and June 2026.
Year on year, 95,000 formal jobs disappeared between June 2025 and June 2026, a drop of 0.9%.
Manufacturing lost 20,000 jobs in the quarter; business services, trade and transport also cut staff.
Community services added 29,000 jobs, while part-time work rose by 26,000 to 1.095 million.
Gross earnings fell by R4.8 billion in the quarter, mainly because of a sharp fall in bonus payments.
South Africa's formal job market weakened again in the second quarter of 2026. According to the latest Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), released on Tuesday, 29 September, the formal non-agricultural sector recorded a net loss of 14,000 jobs between March and June. That took total employment in the sector from 10.439 million to 10.425 million, a fall of 0.1%.
The bigger picture is more worrying. Measured over twelve months to June 2026, the sector is 95,000 jobs smaller, a drop of 0.9%. For a country where unemployment is already above 30%, every quarter of shrinking formal payrolls makes it harder for jobseekers to find stable, salaried work.
Which sectors cut jobs in Q2 2026?
Four industries drove the quarterly decline. Stats SA's figures show:
Manufacturing: down 20,000 jobs, or 1.6%, the biggest drop of any industry;
Business services: down 13,000;
Trade: down 8,000; and
Transport: down 5,000.
Which sectors added jobs?
There was some good news. Community services added 29,000 jobs, the strongest growth of any sector. Electricity, mining and construction each posted small gains of 1,000 jobs. These gains cushioned the blow but were not enough to offset losses elsewhere.
Full-time jobs fell while part-time work grew
The type of work people hold is shifting. Full-time employment dropped by 40,000 over the quarter, from 9.37 million in March to 9.33 million in June, a decline of 0.4%. Business services, manufacturing, trade and transport were among the industries where full-time posts were lost, while construction and mining recorded gains. Compared with a year earlier, full-time employment was down by 96,000.
Part-time employment moved the other way. It rose by 26,000, or 2.4%, reaching 1.095 million by June, with community services responsible for the bulk of the gain, adding 32,000 part-time jobs, and business services contributing 4,000. Stats SA's director of Quarterly Employment Statistics, Matlapane Masupye, attributed the full-time decline to losses in business services, manufacturing, trade, transport, community services and electricity.
What happened to salaries and bonuses?
Earnings data paints a mixed picture for workers' pockets:
Gross earnings paid to employees fell by R4.8 billion (0.5%) in the quarter to about R1.025 trillion, driven mainly by a sharp drop in bonus payments of about R23 billion. Year on year, gross earnings were still up by R35.1 billion, or 3.5%.
Basic salaries and wages rose by R15.5 billion in the quarter, to R930.1 billion.
Overtime payments increased by R2.7 billion to R32.1 billion.
Average monthly earnings rose 2.6% over the three months to May 2026, reaching R30,611 (up from R29,825 in February), and were 4.1% higher than a year earlier.
Business services, mining and transport saw gross earnings fall, while community services, trade, construction, manufacturing and electricity recorded increases.
How is the QES different from the QLFS?
It is easy to confuse Stats SA's two main jobs reports. The QES surveys businesses and measures formal employment outside agriculture. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), by contrast, interviews households and captures the wider labour market, including informal work and unemployment.
The most recent QLFS, published in August, showed the official unemployment rate climbing from 32.7% in the first quarter to 33.6% in the second. Young people were hit hardest: the number of unemployed people aged 15 to 34 increased by 264,000 to 5 million, giving that group an unemployment rate of 47.4%.
Why is hiring so weak?
Reporting by Business Day, published via TimesLIVE, links the weak jobs data to an economy growing too slowly to create work. South Africa's GDP contracted by 0.2% in the three months to June, the first contraction in six quarters, after growth of 0.4% in the first quarter. Weakness in trade, catering and accommodation, as well as key manufacturing and mining industries, weighed on output.
Businesses have also been cautious about hiring as they absorb higher input costs linked to the US-Iran war, which has pushed up oil prices and, in turn, local fuel costs since April. Critics have blamed the slow pace of structural reforms needed to lift growth.
What happens next?
The next QES release will cover the third quarter of 2026 and will show whether manufacturing and business services continue to shed jobs. Jobseekers should also watch the next QLFS for an updated unemployment rate, as well as fuel price changes, which feed directly into business costs and hiring decisions.
What this means for you
If you are looking for work, the data suggests that competition for full-time formal jobs remains tough, especially in manufacturing, business services, trade and transport. At the same time, community services was the main source of new jobs this quarter, and part-time roles are growing. It may be worth widening your search to include these areas and to part-time or contract positions that can lead to permanent roles.
If you are employed, the rise in average monthly earnings is encouraging, but lower bonus payments show that many companies are trimming extras. Keep your skills current, document your achievements ahead of performance reviews, and keep an emergency fund if you work in one of the sectors under pressure. You can browse current vacancies on Jobsiz to see which employers are still hiring.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many jobs did South Africa lose in Q2 2026?
Stats SA's QES shows the formal non-agricultural sector lost a net 14,000 jobs between March and June 2026, bringing employment to 10.425 million.
How many jobs were lost over the past year?
Over the twelve months to June 2026, formal non-agricultural employment shrank by 95,000 jobs, or 0.9%.
Which industry lost the most jobs?
Manufacturing recorded the largest quarterly decline at 20,000 jobs, followed by business services, trade and transport.
Which sectors are hiring in South Africa?
Community services added 29,000 jobs in the quarter. Electricity, mining and construction each added 1,000, and part-time employment grew by 26,000.
What is the difference between the QES and the QLFS?
The QES surveys businesses and tracks formal non-agricultural jobs. The QLFS interviews households and measures the broader labour market, including unemployment and informal work.
What is South Africa's unemployment rate?
The QLFS released in August showed the official unemployment rate at 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with youth unemployment at 47.4%.
Sources
This article was compiled by Jobsiz from the sources listed above, with AI-assisted writing and automated fact-checking. Published 30 September 2026. We update stories when new verified information becomes available.