South Africa faces rising unemployment and migrant worker exodus

South Africa is facing a deepening labor crisis driven by rising national unemployment and a significant exodus of migrant workers. The national unemployment rate reached 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with the Eastern Cape province experiencing a severe surge to 47.5%.

In Newcastle, clothing factories have reported workforce losses of between 12% and 19% following a June 30 deadline set by the anti-immigrant group March and March. This exodus, which reportedly included over 160,000 people across various sectors including farming and households, has left sewing lines empty in garment plants. The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union estimated that approximately 15% of Newcastle's 15,000 textile workers departed.

Broad industrial declines have been noted, with the community and social services and mining sectors seeing significant job losses. While the Western Cape has shown relative stability with an unemployment rate of 19.5%, the national youth unemployment rate has climbed to 62.8%.