231,850 Foreign Nationals Found Working in SA as Department Flags Entry-Level Jobs

• The Department of Employment and Labour inspected 168,766 workplaces and uncovered a striking number of foreign nationals employed across South Africa
• Many foreign nationals were found in entry-level roles the department believes should be filled by South African job seekers
• The agricultural and wholesale sectors recorded the highest numbers, with Gauteng leading all provinces in foreign worker figures

SOUTH AFRICA - The Department of Employment and Labour has raised alarm after uncovering more than 231,000 foreign nationals employed at workplaces it inspected across South Africa. The findings came from the second quarter of the 2026/2027 financial year, during which 168,766 establishments were visited.

A total of 231,850 foreign nationals were found working at the inspected sites. What concerned the department most was that a significant portion of these workers occupied entry-level positions widely regarded as opportunities that should go to South Africans.

Agricultural and retail sectors lead the numbers

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The agricultural sector recorded the highest concentration of foreign workers, with 46,533 identified during inspections. The wholesale and retail sector followed closely, with 41,359 foreign nationals employed across those businesses.

Broken down by province, Gauteng had the highest figure at 59,624 foreign nationals in inspected workplaces. North West came second with 58,533, and the Western Cape recorded 34,675. Other provinces reported the following numbers: Limpopo (24,972), Eastern Cape (20,385), KwaZulu-Natal (13,295), Mpumalanga (11,560), Free State (5,173), and the Northern Cape (3,571).

See statement from the Department here:

Department pushes for better collaboration on local employment

Department spokesperson Teboho Thejane said the data pointed to an urgent need for stronger collaboration to open up labour market opportunities for South Africans. The department has also been scaling up its inspection capacity through Project 10,000, an initiative aimed at growing the number of labour inspectors nationwide.

South Africans weigh in

South Africans on social media were quick to respond to the figures:

@yenzo_kuhl wrote:

"This is totally unacceptable! Those businesses must be held accountable. It can't be business as usual."

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@AlexMilatov said:

"Then we must smile and move on like this isn't twisted. Unemployment increases for South Africans, at the same time majority of the newly employed are foreigners."

@Mabev90 reacted:

"It's so upsetting that you are sharing this information but nothing will be done to correct it his 😏"

@EmzaChick added:

"This is what the citizens have been complaining about for 2 decades now."

@JayDi1984 argued:

"Funny how this department never mentions the number of jobs being created by the same foreigners directly and indirectly."

Jacinta says fight against undocumented foreign naionals benefitted SA job seekers

Briefly News also reported that March and March movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma asserted that standard employment data proves her movement's campaign against foreign nationals in the workforce has directly benefited thousands of South African households. She claimed that quarterly employment figures recorded 34,000 jobs generated within three months in industries she described as previously dominated by non-nationals.

Source: Briefly News