Construction delivered one of the stronger signals this week, with employment increasing 7.5% y/y in Q2 2026 to 1.35 million workers, despite a deterioration in the broader labour market. The detail was less convincing, however, with the increase driven by a 21% rise in informal construction employment, while formal employment declined by 1.8%. Gauteng and Limpopo recorded particularly strong employment growth, while the North West and Eastern Cape remained under pressure.
On the project side, Southern Palladium’s Bengwenyama PGM-chrome project in Limpopo moved a step closer to development after securing its 30-year mining right, while government’s efforts to raise more than R53 billion for four major infrastructure projects could strengthen the medium-term pipeline if funding is secured. Eskom’s surplus generation capacity and efforts to attract large electricity users, including data centres, also point to new investment opportunities. For now, however, the picture remains uneven: the project pipeline is improving, but weak formal employment, rising national unemployment and softer manufacturing activity suggest that the broader construction recovery is still gaining traction.
