An economy does not fail its people only when it stops creating jobs. It fails them when its jobs arrive more slowly than the people who need them.
Statistics South Africa reported on Tuesday that the economy added 101,000 jobs in the third quarter of 2026. The same figures showed that the number of unemployed people rose by 97,000 to 8.6 million, and the official unemployment rate edged up from 33.6% to 33.7%.
My participation in a side event on nuclear power in Africa at the IAEA General Conference in Vienna, followed by the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power hosted by the Republic of Korea in Incheon from 27 to 29 October, reinforced my conviction that a nuclear renaissance is taking shape. Across these discussions, energy security, industrial development, decarbonisation and the people needed to deliver nuclear programmes have moved to the centre of the conversation.
The North-West University Football Club (NWU FC) continued their encouraging run in the Motsepe Foundation Championship with a convincing 3-1 victory over Highbury FC at the Fanie du Toit Sports Ground in Potchefstroom this weekend. The victory further underlined the growing confidence and consistency of the team as the players begin to find their rhythm in the second-tier football competition in South Africa.
The DA won the most seats in Gauteng’s three metros, but ActionSA holds the stronger bargaining position. Its ability to negotiate with either bloc could decide who governs and who answers when services fail.
The successful conclusion of South Africa’s 2026 municipal elections has so far already sent a positive message that holding free and fair elections can be good for the economy.
Although the widely anticipated removal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) preferences for South Africa by the US on 1 January 2027 will have a minimal impact on the domestic economy as a whole, specific sectors like agriculture and the motor industry will inevitably be negatively affected.
Governments can keep talking. Businesses cannot keep waiting. An AGOA agreement may come too late to protect some jobs and investments.
Losing AGOA would not close the American market, but particular exporters and workers could face substantial losses.
North-West University (NWU) scientist Prof. Olubukola Babalola received the prestigious 2026 Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Science-for-Society Gold Medal on 29 October 2026, recognising her outstanding contribution to scientific research and its impact on society.
I attended a graduation session where students refused to come on stage when the photographer experienced a technical problem with his camera. We live in an era where photographic evidence is required to prove that something happened. However, it may merely be evidence that someone knows how to use an artificial intelligence tool.
South Africa is helping young people become ready for work. But what happens when the economy has no work to offer them?
A year of workplace experience can change a young person’s life. Returning to unemployment can expose the limits of that promise.