South African assets have been on fire this year, but here's the reality check: this momentum might fizzle out unless the economy actually starts creating jobs. The country's unemployment crisis remains brutal, and without tangible improvement in growth metrics, this rally could hit a ceiling sooner than investors expect. Asset performance needs fundamentals to back it up, not just sentiment. The real test? Whether policymakers can translate market optimism into economic expansion that puts people to work. Otherwise, we're looking at another case of disconnected markets running ahead of ground-level reality.