Data series, Unemployment
Youth unemployment rate, ages 15 to 24
62.8%Q2 2026. Up from 60.9% in Q1 2026.
Series id youth-unemployment-1524. This page and its downloads keep the same address when new figures are added.
Unemployment rate (LU1) among 15–24 year olds, one of the highest youth rates in the world. It rose 1.9 percentage points to 62.8% in Q2 2026. This cohort faces structural barriers including lack of experience, skills mismatch, and geographic concentration of youth outside economic centres.
Source: Statistics South Africa, Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Quarter 2: 2026 (P0211), Table 2.2, page 26. Source released . Checked on SA Data Hub . Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| Q1 2022 | 63.9% |
| Q2 2022 | 64.8% |
| Q3 2022 | 63.2% |
| Q4 2022 | 62.7% |
| Q1 2023 | 63.5% |
| Q2 2023 | 63.9% |
| Q3 2023 | 62.8% |
| Q4 2023 | 62.1% |
| Q1 2024 | 61.8% |
| Q2 2024 | 62.4% |
| Q3 2024 | 62.0% |
| Q4 2024 | 61.5% |
| Q1 2025 | 62.3% |
| Q2 2025 | 62.2% |
| Q3 2025 | 58.5% |
| Q4 2025 | 57.0% |
| Q1 2026 | 60.9% |
| Q2 2026 | 62.8% |
Every value
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 62.8% |
| Q1 2026 | 60.9% |
| Q4 2025 | 57.0% |
| Q3 2025 | 58.5% |
| Q2 2025 | 62.2% |
| Q1 2025 | 62.3% |
| Q4 2024 | 61.5% |
| Q3 2024 | 62.0% |
| Q2 2024 | 62.4% |
| Q1 2024 | 61.8% |
| Q4 2023 | 62.1% |
| Q3 2023 | 62.8% |
| Q2 2023 | 63.9% |
| Q1 2023 | 63.5% |
| Q4 2022 | 62.7% |
| Q3 2022 | 63.2% |
| Q2 2022 | 64.8% |
| Q1 2022 | 63.9% |
Changes to this series
No revisions by the publisher have been recorded for this series. SA Data Hub started recording them on 7 November 2026; earlier revisions are not listed.
SA Data Hub's update log for this dataset
, correction
The NEET rate is shown again, now from QLFS Q4 2025 (released 17 February 2026), which SA Data Hub holds: "NEET rate for youth aged 15–24 years", 34.0% in Q4 2025, up 0.5 of a percentage point from Q4 2024 (section 4.2, page 8). The quarterly series from Q4 2024 is from Table 7b, page 82. The old annual series (2019 to 2025) could not be traced to a release and was replaced.
, correction
Two youth figures are no longer shown: the expanded youth unemployment rate (60.8%, Q4 2025) and the NEET rate (37.2%, 2025). Their source, QLFS Q4 2025, is not in the files SA Data Hub holds, so their values and release date cannot be checked. The 15 to 24 rate (62.8%) and the 15 to 34 rate (47.4%) for Q2 2026 were checked against QLFS Q2 2026, Table 2.2, pages 26 and 27; the 15 to 34 rate is worked out from the published counts.
, data update
Refreshed to QLFS Q2 2026 (15–34: 47.4%; 15–24: 62.8%). Eight Q1 2024–Q4 2025 points for 15–24 corrected. Q1 2026 (15–34) is a derived value, not published directly. youth-unemployment-expanded headline (60.8%) is flagged unsupported; owner decision pending.
, data update
Youth unemployment and NEET series validated against the latest QLFS publication.
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You may reuse this series under CC BY 4.0. Credit Statistics South Africa as the original source and SA Data Hub as the place you got it.
Cite this series
Statistics South Africa (2026). Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Quarter 2: 2026 (P0211), Table 2.2, page 26. Series "Youth unemployment rate, ages 15 to 24" via SA Data Hub, https://sadatahub.tech/series/youth-unemployment-1524 (checked 2026-10-19).
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