The Quarterly Employment Statistics have revealed that the number of employed persons decreased from 10.439 million in March 2026 to 10.425 million in June 2026.
Data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows a marginal decrease of 14 000 or 0.1% in jobs in private non-agricultural businesses on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
The sectors that recorded the largest decreases in employment were manufacturing, business services, trade and transport.
StatsSA notes that total employment decreased by 95 000 on a year-on-year basis between June 2025 and June 2026.
Director of Quarterly Employment Statistics, Matlapane Masupye says, “Full-time employment decreased by 96 000 year-on-year between June 2025 and June 2026. Part-time employment increased by 26 000 quarter-on-quarter, from 1 069 000 in March 2026 to 1 095 000 in June 2026.”
Masupye adds, “This was due to increases in the following industries: community services 32 000, business services 4 000, electricity 2 000, and transport 1 000. However, there were decreases reported by the following industries: manufacturing 10 000, construction 2 000, and trade 1 000.”
— Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) (@StatsSA) September 29, 2026
