We empirically analyze the relationship between youth unemployment and education attainment in South Africa, using quarterly data from 2001 to 2024 obtained from the World Bank. Employing Autoregression Distributed Lags (ARDL) model, we treat Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate) as dependent variable and educational attainment, at least completed lower secondary, population 25+, total (%) (cumulative) as independent variable. ARDL results show that lagged Unemployment (lag 1) is positive and statistically significant, meaning that unemployment is persistent. The coefficient of education (0.208554) is positive and statistically significant. This implies that a one year increase in education leads to increase in unemployment by 0.21%. We recommend that policymakers strengthen the quality and relevance of education through skills development, vocational training, and stronger alignment between educational institutions and labor market demands. In addition, broader economic policies aimed at promoting investment, entrepreneurship, and job creation are necessary to effectively reduce youth unemployment in South Africa.