South Africa’s labour market has seen profound transformation over the past 30 years, with the number of employed people more than doubling from 7.9 million in 1994 to over 16.5 million in 2024. This expansion, largely achieved in the country’s first two post-apartheid decades, delivered real opportunity for millions, yet the promise of shared prosperity has faded in recent years as reform momentum dissipated and policy drift set in.

During the Mandela and Mbeki presidencies, job creation in South Africa tracked closely alongside rising economic growth, business confidence, and investment. As growth accelerated, employment surged to 12 million by 2004 and nearly 15 million by 2008, with the official unemployment rate dropping to a low of 21.5%. This performance was driven by sound macroeconomic management, fiscal discipline, and a pragmatic approach to market reforms.

The democratic dividend was not only measured in jobs. Household access to electricity, clean water, and formal housing soared, while rising tax revenues funded a fivefold increase in social grants. These trends helped cement public support for the ANC through repeated electoral victories.

Turning Point

The 2008 global financial crisis proved a turning point. As global demand and commodity prices tumbled, South Africa’s growth more than halved, then flatlined. Fixed investment, a key engine of job creation, plunged from nearly 23% of GDP to below 15% today. Formal sector employment stalled, then shrank, and the unemployment rate rose, reaching 33.2% in mid-2025. The expanded unemployment rate, which includes discouraged work seekers, climbed to well over 40%.

Policy choices deepened the malaise. Labour market rigidity, a shift toward state-led intervention, and the erosion of property rights compounded investor anxiety, stalling investment and hiring. As joblessness rose, frustration with economic drift boiled over into populist politicking and protest action.

The group most punished for this has been the ANC, which saw its support fall across successive elections. Once a dominant political force, the ANC’s national vote share collapsed from 69% in 2014 to just below 40% in 2024, reflecting widespread public disillusionment with its inability to deliver jobs or sustained growth.

Women and the youth have borne the brunt of stagnation. Today, the youth unemployment rate stands well above 50%, while female unemployment is 36%, and the labour absorption rate has fallen from 52% in 2001 to just 41%.

South Africans must not forget, however, that for a long time the economy did generate large volumes of new jobs and delivered rising living standards for millions. That period remains a reminder of what is possible with the right policy mix.