Over 231,000 foreign nationals are employed across South African workplaces, with the vast majority occupying entry-level positions that could readily be filled by local job seekers, according to new data from the Department of Employment and Labour.
The findings, drawn from the Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) semester one report for the 2026/27 financial year, cover workplace inspections conducted up to the end of the second quarter. Out of 168,766 workplaces inspected nationwide, 21,371 were found to employ foreign nationals, accounting for a total of 231,850 foreign workers.
Addressing delegates at the Department's Public Employment Services (PES) 2026 National Strategic Planning Conference in Rusternburg, IES Branch Inspector General Aggy Moiloa described the trend as unfortunate, noting that most of these roles are entry-level jobs that South Africans could easily occupy.
Provincial distribution
Gauteng recorded the highest concentration of employed foreign nationals at 59,624, closely followed by the North West province with 58,533 and the Western Cape with 34,675. Limpopo accounted for 24,972 foreign workers, while the Eastern Cape recorded 20,385. Lower figures were registered in KwaZulu-Natal at 13,295, Mpumalanga at 11,560, the Free State at 5,173, and the Northern Cape at 3,571, with an additional 62 recorded under the Department's Head Office.
Sector breakdown
Across economic sectors, Agriculture employed the largest number of foreign nationals, with 46,533 workers spread across 1,205 employers. The Wholesale and Retail sector ranked second, employing 41,359 foreign nationals across 6,698 businesses. Rounding out the top ten sectors with the highest foreign national employment are Community services, Manufacturing, Hospitality, Construction, Mining, Private Security, Financial Services, and Education.
Strengthening enforcement capacity
Speaking at the Anew Hotel, Hunters Rest, under the theme “Enforcement of the Employment Services Act as Amended: areas of collaboration and expectations from PES,” Moiloa called for closer operational alignment between the PES and IES branches.
Stressing that effective enforcement relies on capacity across both divisions, she revealed that the inspectorate is banking on Project 10 000 to recruit additional inspectors and bolster compliance monitoring across the country.