Unemployment: Blame the Foreigner

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Are foreigners taking all the jobs?

[00:00:04]Yesterday we looked at South Africa's unemployment figures, 34% and climbing.

[00:00:10]And Wednesday the government also handed us their explanation, not a solution, an explanation, someone to point at. The target this time is foreign nationals.

[00:00:22]>> The major complaint is the accusation that foreign nationals are taking opportunities that must be reserved for South Africans. The data from stats essay shows that foreignb born people in South Africa are twice as likely to be employed as locally born citizens. And government's instinct rather than asking why that is is to announce inspections, enforcement and sector reservations.

[00:00:51]The problem in their telling is the foreigner, not the policy environment, not 30 years of decisions that made this economy what it is today. This is worth unpacking carefully because the government is about to use legitimate public frustration and real data to avoid the only conversation that actually matters. Thank you to every subscriber who supports this channel.

[00:01:19]Watching these videos is what keeps this channel moving forward. For those who have discovered this for the first time, I'm Ranu and this is the Randrew show.

[00:01:32]Minister in the presidency Kumbuveni was delivering a budget debate speech when she cited new statistics South Africa data. The unemployment rate for locally born South Africans is now sitting at around 34 plus percent. For foreignb born persons, it's only 18.2%.

[00:01:52]That South Africa in the migration module of the quarterly labor force survey reported that unemployment rate for foreignb born persons as of 2022 was 18.2% and that of local born persons was 34%. The unemployment rate of foreignb born persons is almost half compared to that of locally born persons.

[00:02:12]>> The absorption rate that's the share of the working age people actually in employment is 37.7% for South Africans. For foreign nationals it's 64%.

[00:02:25]In plain language employers are choosing foreigners over South Africans at a rate that is not marginal. It is systemic.

[00:02:33]And the data is not new. It goes all the way back to 2022.

[00:02:39]So the question the minister didn't really answer and the question that should be at the center of this debate is why why are employers choosing foreign workers over South Africans in the first place? Now some evidence points to let's say straightforward economic calculation.

[00:02:59]Foreign workers, particularly those who are undocumented, are more willing to work for lower wages in lower status jobs. They're less likely to join unions. They're less likely to threaten litigation. They're more likely to accept difficult hours in high turnover sectors like hospitality, agriculture, uh construction, security, cleaning, retail. This preference is economic, not ideological. Employees are not hiring foreigners because they prefer foreigners. They're hiring foreigners because the regulatory environment around South African labor has made it expensive and legally risky to hire South Africans. Think about that. And that is the conversation the government is not having.

[00:03:51]So what is the government's response to all of this? Point at the foreigner, announce inspections and enforcement.

[00:03:59]That's their answer. Cabinet has instructed the Department of Employment and Labor to intensify workplace inspections in hospitality, agriculture, trucking, and construction.

[00:04:12]Municipalities have been told to enforce trading bylaws.

[00:04:17]South Africans have been told to stop subleasasing their business licenses.

[00:04:23]Now, here is where it gets interesting.

[00:04:26]The minister appears to be conflating two very different categories of people.

[00:04:32]Undocumented immigrants, those who entered and remained illegally, and legal foreign nationals who have gone through the proper channels and are living and working in South Africa lawfully. Because here is the problem with that conflation.

[00:04:49]The stats essay data does not restrict its findings to undocumented migrants.

[00:04:55]The 64% absorption rate applies to foreignb born persons broadly which means a significant portion of those who are um out competing South Africans in the labor market are here legally. So when the crackdown comes and the inspections happen and it turns out a large share of the employers are hiring legal foreigners, what then does that create the perception that even legal immigration is a problem? Because that is a very dangerous place to go to.

[00:05:31]The government has announced that it is moving ahead with the revised white paper on immigration.

[00:05:37]Now, part of that white paper includes provisions to designate certain trades, professions, and business sectors as reserved for South Africans and recognized refugees.

[00:05:51]We already have BEE, a compliance framework so costly and difficult to navigate that it has materially damaged investor confidence in this country.

[00:06:02]International companies doing due diligence on South Africa run headlong into BEE scorecard requirements and walk away. Domestic businesses spend significant resources trying to satisfy compliance demands rather than growing.

[00:06:20]And now the government wants to add another layer. Not just race-based employment preferences, but nationality based sector reservations. So a business owner who has managed to satisfy their bee obligations now has to track the citizenship status of every employee in every role and ensure compliance with sector designations that could change with ministerial discretion. If you think that BE compliance was a nightmare, wait until you see what employment compliance looks like when foreigners are also excluded from designated sectors. And if you are an international investor sitting in London or Dubai or Singapore right now trying to decide whether to put capital into South Africa, what does this look like to you?

[00:07:13]The minister ended her speech with a line that sounded very statesmanlike.

[00:07:18]>> Official statistics remain our strongest defense against an unc uncertainity and misinformation. They provide a single trusted foundation. The truth told objectively and transparently through numbers. Official statistics allow a nation to see itself clearly from not where it shifted.

[00:07:43]to see self clearly not only where it stands today but how it is going to change over time.

[00:07:50]They replace speculation with facts and rhetoric with reality. And we plead to South Africans to rely on official statistics and not believe on misinformation and malinformation.

[00:08:02]>> Fine, let's do that.

[00:08:05]The stats SA quarterly labor force survey for the first quarter of 2026 recorded a net loss of 345,000 employed persons compared to the previous quarter. That is not a seasonal trend. The minister herself rejected that explanation. That is 345,000 people who had jobs and no longer do.

[00:08:31]Yes, I mentioned in my video yesterday 301,000, but it seems that uh the actual stats is 345,000.

[00:08:39]Don't know anymore. Everyone's telling a different number. Let's take it at 345,000. Now, Stats SA also recorded 1,534 business closures in 2025. There are approximately 249 working days in a year when you exclude weekends and public holidays. So that works out to more than six businesses closing every single day for 2025.

[00:09:07]Six businesses a day. And every business that closes takes jobs with it permanently.

[00:09:15]So where does the blame actually lie?

[00:09:18]The ANC has been in power for over 30 years. They made promises to their supporters. promises of jobs, of prosperity, of economic transformation.

[00:09:30]And three decades later, the unemployment rate for locally born South Africans is 34% and climbing.

[00:09:38]Six businesses are closing every working day, and the government solution is to inspect more restaurants for undocumented workers. The economic environment that has produced these numbers did not arrive from outside. It was constructed yeah through deliberate policy choices that accumulated over decades. Be as it is currently structured acts as a blockade on investment. It creates a cost of doing business that pushes capital elsewhere.

[00:10:11]And as long as that blockade remains in place, the economy cannot grow at the rate it needs in order to absorb the number of people who need work. Blaming foreigners is not a jobs policy. It is a distraction from the absence of one.

[00:10:28]Here is the question I want the minister in the presidency to answer. Not in a speech, not with a government press release, but with actual policy. If the data shows that employers are choosing foreign workers because South African labor regulation makes hiring South Africans too expensive and too risky.

[00:10:51]Why is your solution more regulation?

[00:10:55]If you have any thoughts, please do drop them in the comment section and do share this video with someone that you think needs to hear the story. If you have subscribed, thank you. It is really appreciated and uh I will see you in the next one.