Black South Africans climb income ladder as unemployment hits lowest since 2020

Over the past three decades, a growing number of Black South African households have moved into higher income brackets. A University of Cape Town study by the Liberty Institute of Strategic Marketing shows that the share of Black households earning more than R75,000 ($4,672) per month rose to 41 percent in 2024, up from 29 percent in 2012. In the same period, the proportion of White households in that income group fell from 61 percent to 41 percent.

Black South Africans gain middle-class ground

The report, Social Class in South Africa, highlights how deep-rooted inequalities can slowly give way to broader participation in prosperity. Black households now represent a larger share of the working and middle classes, with those earning more than R22,000 a month rising fourfold to more than 7 million in 2024, contributing to a total of over 11 million people in these income bands, up from roughly 4 million in 2012.

“One of the critiques will be that it has not happened fast enough,” said Paul Egan, director of the Liberty Institute. “But when we look at income and who is getting it, it’s one of the bright stories in terms of how things have transformed.” Yet the gains at the top obscure ongoing struggles at the bottom. Black South Africans continue to predominate among the poor and working poor, a reality that persists even as some climb the income ladder.

South Africa unemployment drops to 31.4%

The broader labor market offers a similarly nuanced picture. Statistics South Africa reported that unemployment in the fourth quarter of 2025 fell to 31.4 percent, down from 31.9 percent in the prior three months, marking the lowest rate since the third quarter of 2020. Employment increased by 44,000 to 17.1 million, while the labor force shrank by 128,000 as some job seekers stepped back from actively looking for work.

Overall, the number of unemployed South Africans declined by 172,000 to 7.8 million. The decline, though modest, eases pressure on households and shows that hiring continues in key public and private sectors despite slow economic growth and persistent energy and logistics challenges. The figures suggest selective labor demand is supporting employment even amid broader constraints.

Black household incomes show gradual rise

For investors and policymakers, these figures provide a window into the country’s slowly changing wealth distribution and labour-market dynamics. Even amid weak growth, power interruptions, and logistical challenges, rising Black household incomes signal a society where opportunity, however gradual, is beginning to touch more lives. In a nation long shaped by institutionalized discrimination, the progress is measured not just in numbers, but in the real-world impact on families striving to move forward.