Young Women Remain More Likely Than Young Men to Be NEET as Jobs Challenge Persists

According to figures from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2026, cited by MiDesk Global, 38.2% of young women aged 15 to 24 were NEET, compared with 34.6% of young men.

The female NEET rate declined from 39.2% in the first quarter of 2026, but remained higher than the male rate. The Q2 figure for young women was also 1.6 percentage points higher than in Q2 2025, according to the release.

Overall, approximately 36.4% of South Africans aged 15 to 24 were NEET during the second quarter, while the number of unemployed people increased by 345,000 to reach 8.5 million.

The figures were released during Women's Month and shortly after Women's Day, putting renewed focus on the barriers facing young women as they try to move from education into employment.

The challenge starts before the workplace

Talita Boodhram, Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer of MiDesk Global, believes the challenges young women face in the labour market can be linked to barriers that begin much earlier in their education.

Boodhram argues that girls in under-resourced schools can face a range of challenges that affect their ability to remain engaged in education, including inadequate classroom infrastructure and difficulties accessing menstrual products.

"Families may lack the financial resources to provide sanitary towels, so girls can't go to school while menstruating," Boodhram said.

She believes repeated absences can cause learners to fall behind academically, potentially contributing to disengagement from education over time.

Boodhram also points to the lack of desks and chairs in some disadvantaged schools as another barrier to creating an environment where children can concentrate and participate fully in their education.

From education to employment

MiDesk Global, a South African NGO that provides portable, solar-powered desks and chairs to children in under-resourced communities, says 51% of its beneficiaries are girls.

The organisation argues that improving learning environments and addressing barriers to girls' participation in education should form part of broader efforts to improve women's economic opportunities.

For Boodhram, addressing unemployment among young women therefore requires looking beyond the labour market itself.

"If we can provide all children with their own desk and chair it will pay dividends in terms of them having their own space to store the items necessary to be engaged pupils," she said.

The latest QLFS figures highlight the scale of the challenge facing young South Africans trying to enter the economy. For young women, the higher NEET rate points to the need for continued attention to the barriers that can prevent girls from remaining in education and eventually accessing employment.

As South Africa observes Women's Month, the figures reinforce the importance of creating stronger pathways from the classroom to the workplace and ensuring that young women are not left behind in the country's economic future.