Of the 867 706 people who registered looking for entry-level work in retail, restaurants and quick-service outlets over a 13-month period, just 6 566 were appointed – approximately one in every 132 – and between them, they sent nearly five million applications.
The first annual Job Seeker Report – The Cost of Trying – followed this cohort from registration to appointment, covering everyone who signed up to JOBJACK, the store-level hiring system that conducted the research between 1 July 2025 and 31 July 2026.
Those seeking these jobs are young, largely qualified, and often experienced. The median age is 24 and 77,1% have Matric; 72,5% have previous work experience; and 64,1% are women. They are looking for work in a labour market in which youth unemployment stands at 47,4% with Stats SA reporting 5-million people aged 15 to 34 as unemployed, against 5,6-million in employment.
Heine Bellingan, JOBJACK’s co-founder and CEO, believes the findings challenge assumptions about the people struggling to secure entry-level work.
“These are not necessarily people entering the labour market without qualifications or experience,” Bellingan says. “Many have both, yet they are competing for a limited number of opportunities. The scale of that competition is something employers and policymakers need to understand if we are going to make meaningful progress.”
The economy, he argues, is relying on an entry point that cannot carry the weight placed on it.
“Store-level work is one of the few routes through which a 24-year-old with Matric can obtain a first payslip and a first reference,” he says. “When only one in 132 people succeeds, the country is depending on a door that is far too narrow for the number of people waiting at it.
“For the businesses receiving those applications, having access to an enormous talent pool does not necessarily make it easier to identify the right candidates,” adds Bellingan. “Each vacancy attracts far more candidates than any business can interview, so the real cost lies in making a poor appointment and having to fill the same role again within a few months.”
Not everyone is unemployed
Competition for store-level positions is not limited to those without work. Of the 5 087 job seekers who completed a voluntary survey for the report, 1 014 – nearly one in five – were already employed and open to growth opportunities.
Keeping new hires is its own challenge. Among respondents already in work, 31,8% left their previous job because a better opportunity came along – the most common reason they gave for moving on.
“The person you are hiring today may already be thinking about where they want to be in two or three years,” Bellingan notes. “If another employer can offer them a clearer path forward, you may find yourself recruiting for the same position again.”
Experience still decides who is hired
Previous experience can make the difference between getting hired and being overlooked. Candidates with a work history were appointed at 11 times the rate of those without, raising questions about how people seeking their first job are expected to enter a market that already favours those who have worked. The report suggests this preference also leaves employers competing for the same experienced workers.
Looking past the first payslip
Career progression outweighed salary for both employed and unemployed respondents.
Asked what mattered when deciding whether to accept a job, 82,4% of unemployed respondents selected growth opportunities and 37,2% selected salary. Among employed respondents, the figures were 74,3% and 39,4%.
For employers, the findings point to the importance of making career progression visible from the outset. Clearer opportunities for training, promotion and greater responsibility could help businesses retain employees rather than repeatedly recruiting replacements.
“The people applying for these roles today are the supervisors and store managers businesses will require in the years ahead,” Bellingan says. “Employers who give them room to progress are investing in the people who will eventually lead their businesses.”