eThekwini records lowest official unemployment rate of any SA metro

The mayor of eThekwini Metro Cyril Xaba says efforts to stabilise greater Durban’s investment environment are paying off after the city recorded the lowest official unemployment rate of any metro in South Africa for the second quarter of this year.

The latest jobs survey by Statistics South Africa puts eThekwini’s unemployment rate at 21.2% for April to June 2026, lower than Cape Town at 21.9% and well below the national average.

Read: Unemployment rate jumps to four-year high of 33.6%

This is a 5.6 percentage point decline from the 26.8% recorded in the same quarter of 2025, the sharpest fall of any metro over the period.

While the city’s officials have marked this as progress, it remains a drop in the ocean compared to the national average, which rose to a four-year high of 33.6% in the three months through June.

The data captures the first full quarter read on employment since the Middle East conflict began on 28 February.

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The war drove energy prices higher, hitting household budgets, while the South African Reserve Bank raised interest rates in May to control inflation, in a further headwind for investment and spending.

Broader labour market improvements for eThekwini

The number of employed residents in eThekwini rose to more than 1.2 million, an increase of 90 000 compared with the same period in 2025.

The expanded measure of labour underutilisation, which includes discouraged work‑seekers and part‑time workers seeking more hours, fell to 40.2% from 44.2% a year earlier.

By contrast, the national equivalent rose over the same period.

“These figures show that the fundamentals we have been working on, which include infrastructure, investment facilitation, and support for the industrial and tourism sectors, are translating into jobs for our residents,” Xaba said in a statement on Wednesday.

Read: Arrests, fines and imprisonment a reality for SA employers hiring illegal foreign nationals

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“We do not read this as a finish line. More than 340 000 people in this city are still looking for work, and our absorption rate must go higher. But the direction of travel is correct, and we intend to sustain it.”

He added the municipality will continue to prioritise infrastructure investment, support for small businesses and strengthen partnerships with the private sector to expand employment opportunities.

In the latest round of investments, the municipality pumped nearly R128 million into the rehabilitation of 13 strategic roads across the inner city and surrounding areas, leading to the upgrade of approximately 65 lane-kilometres of road infrastructure.

The investment forms part of the municipality’s broader Inner-City Regeneration Programme, aimed at restoring and modernising Durban’s urban core, improving mobility, enhancing public safety, and stimulating economic growth and job creation within the central business district and surrounding precincts.

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