South Africa’s Unemployment Rises Despite Expulsion of Foreign Workers

South Africa’s unemployment crisis has deepened, raising fresh questions about claims that foreign workers are a significant contributor to the country’s chronic joblessness.

According to figures from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the unemployment rate increased to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, from 32.7% in the first quarter. The number of unemployed people reportedly increased by 345,000 to approximately 8.5 million, while the number of employed people declined by 16,000 to around 16.7 million.

Young South Africans were particularly affected. An additional 264,000 young people reportedly joined the ranks of the unemployed, pushing the number of jobless youth to about five million.

The deterioration in the labour market comes amid heightened anti-migrant sentiment and actions against foreign nationals, including citizens of Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries. During June and July, reports of threats, attacks on foreign-owned businesses and pressure on undocumented migrants prompted some foreign nationals to leave the country, while others sought assistance from their governments.

At the heart of much of the anti-migrant campaign has been the argument that foreign nationals, particularly undocumented migrants, are taking jobs that should otherwise go to South Africans. Supporters of tougher immigration enforcement have maintained that reducing the number of foreign workers would improve employment opportunities for citizens.

The latest unemployment figures, however, suggest that South Africa’s jobs crisis is far more complex.

Rather than improving as foreign nationals left or were removed, unemployment increased during the period. Youth unemployment also deteriorated, challenging the assumption that reducing migrant participation in the labour market would automatically translate into more jobs for South Africans.

Employment reportedly declined in seven of the country’s 10 major industries during the second quarter, including important sectors such as construction, trade and mining.

Economists have long argued that South Africa’s unemployment problem is fundamentally structural. Weak economic growth, inadequate investment, electricity and infrastructure constraints, skills mismatches and the inability of the formal economy to create enough jobs for a growing labour force are among the factors frequently cited.

With unemployment remaining above 30% for several years, migration alone cannot adequately explain the scale and persistence of the problem.

The social consequences of blaming foreign nationals for unemployment are equally concerning. Xenophobic violence and hostility towards African migrants have periodically strained South Africa’s relations with other countries on the continent and damaged its image as one of Africa’s leading economies.

Foreign nationals accused of taking jobs are often themselves operating in difficult parts of the informal economy, running small businesses, providing services or accepting work that does not necessarily translate directly into permanent employment opportunities for local jobseekers.

This does not mean South Africa should ignore illegal immigration. Like every sovereign country, it has the right and responsibility to enforce its immigration and labour laws, protect its borders and ensure that employers comply with employment regulations. But immigration enforcement should not become a substitute for an effective economic and employment strategy.

The latest figures offer an important lesson: removing foreign workers does not, by itself, create jobs.

South Africa's unemployment challenge requires policies capable of expanding productive industries, encouraging investment, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, improving education and vocational skills, rebuilding critical infrastructure and creating an environment in which businesses can grow and employ more people.

With about 8.5 million South Africans reportedly unemployed, the debate should therefore move beyond the question of who is taking existing jobs to the more fundamental question: why is the economy not creating enough new jobs?

Until that question is addressed, blaming migrants may provide a convenient political explanation, but it is unlikely to provide a lasting solution to South Africa’s unemployment crisis.