If you're between 15 and 24 in South Africa and you want a job, the numbers are brutal: only about three in ten of you have one.

That's the headline from Statistics South Africa's Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2026, released during Youth Month — the same month the country marks 50 years since the Soweto uprising.

For the broader youth bracket — people aged 15 to 34 — the unemployment rate sits at 45.8%. That's 4.7 million young people actively looking for work and not finding it.

But the picture gets worse when you look at those who've given up. About 3.9 million young people aged 15 to 24 — that's 37.6% of that age group — aren't in employment, education, or training. These are the NEETs, and their numbers are growing.

Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator's latest Breaking Barriers report, which combines QLFS data with its own income survey of 3,167 young people, puts the unemployment rate for 18- to 35-year-olds even higher: 54.65%.

According to Harambee, 255,000 fewer young people were employed in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter. Job losses hit men and women equally. The hardest-hit sectors were community and social services, construction, and retail.

Discouraged workers — people who've stopped looking because they believe no jobs exist — rose from 10.75% to 11.33%. And the total number of young NEETs reached 9.2 million.

"Growth creates jobs, but not automatically for young people," Harambee stated.

The organisation's income survey found that getting a first structured work experience makes a young person 10 percentage points more likely to stay in the labour market. It also makes them 10 percentage points more likely to land another wage job.

Meanwhile, the government is trying to fix the pipeline. Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela this week briefed the media on phasing out certain pre-2009 qualifications. He also discussed shifting toward occupational qualifications.

The change follows public concern about the transition and what it means for learners, training providers, and employers.

Manamela said the move is part of a broader skills revolution agenda. It aims to modernise the post-school education and training system and strengthen the link between qualifications and what employers actually need.

"Education remains at the centre of South Africa's development agenda," Manamela said.

He stressed that already-awarded qualifications remain valid. But he argued the country has to move toward qualifications that better prepare learners for real work. Legacy qualifications favoured the classroom over the workshop, he said. Meanwhile, occupational qualifications include stronger practical training, workplace placement, and clearer links to industry demand.

The numbers show why the urgency is real. Stats SA reports that young people make up 21 million — 49.7% — of the working-age population. But of those, only 5.6 million are employed. Another 4.7 million are unemployed, and 10.6 million are outside the labour force entirely.

For 15- to 24-year-olds specifically, the unemployment rate is 60.9%. For those aged 25 to 34, it's 40.6%.

The University of Johannesburg's Centre for Social Development in Africa also weighed in on Friday, launching a joint policy brief series on the Generating Better Livelihoods Project and the Basic Package of Support.

One brief, titled From Margins to Mainstream: In-Person Support as a Policy Lever for Livelihood Outcomes, argues that digital platforms and job programmes aren't enough. Many young people need human support to navigate barriers like transport costs, repeated rejection, poor mental health, food insecurity, and fragmented public services.

  • Youth unemployment (15-34): 45.8%
  • Youth NEET (15-24): 37.6% (3.9 million)
  • Total young NEETs (15-34): 9.2 million
  • Youth unemployment rate (15-24): 60.9%
  • Youth unemployment rate (25-34): 40.6%
  • Harambee survey unemployment (18-35): 54.65%
  • Job losses Q1 2026: 255,000