Jobs a pipe dream as one in three can’t afford interviews

You know the chips are stacked against you when you can’t even afford to get to a job interview, which is difficult securing in the first place.

But that’s exactly what a 2026 job seekers report showed. The sad state of affairs revealed that “one in every three candidates invited for an interview could not afford to attend, while only one employee was hired for every 750 applications submitted”.

The survey was conducted by Jobjack – a recruitment company based in Cape Town – and compiled between July 2025 and July 2026.

Jobjack analysed “4.9 million job applications sent by 867 700 users with an average age of 24, with only 6 566 of those applications resulting in appointments.

Of the over 5 000 survey respondents, 48% had been searching for a job for more than a year and 28% walked to areas of prospective employment”.

Sadly, 36% of those who missed their interviews did not even make it to the interview due to transport costs.

According to many applicants, the printing costs of submitting CVs and then travelling to the interview cost on average R500 – money many didn’t have.

With the alarming rate of unemployment and each year more and more job seekers entering the market, what chance do many young people have of securing employment?