South Africa’s jobless crisis deepened in the second quarter, official data released on Tuesday showed, presenting a major challenge for the country’s one-year-old coalition government.

The unemployment rate climbed to 33.2% in April-June, up from 32.9% in the previous quarter, keeping the country among the highest globally in terms of joblessness.

The coalition government, formed after the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in the 2024 election, has prioritized job creation but has struggled to achieve a meaningful drop in unemployment.

Statistics South Africa reported that the total number of unemployed people rose to 8.367 million during the latest quarter, although there was a slight decline in an expanded measure of unemployment that counts those discouraged from seeking work.

Six of the ten industries tracked by the agency saw job losses, while four recorded growth. Community and social services, agriculture, and finance were the hardest hit sectors.

Top statistics official Risenga Maluleke said it was too early to determine whether new U.S. tariffs were affecting employment. South African exports to the United States faced a 30% tariff last week, the highest rate imposed on any sub-Saharan African country.

Maluleke also responded to criticism from the former head of Capitec Bank, who suggested that informal employment might be underestimated.

“We have always measured that and made our numbers available. South Africa would be making a big mistake as a country if we want to assume that we do not have an unemployment challenge,” he said during a press briefing.

Desiree Manamela, chief director of labour statistics, said that updates to the way Statistics SA collects unemployment data, which will be implemented next quarter, were unlikely to change the official jobless rate.

However, she added that the updates would allow the agency to include broader measures of the economy’s health in future reports.