The closely-watched non-farm payrolls figures showed U.S. employers added 353,000 jobs in January, beating the 180,000 jobs economists had expected.
The rand was down about 1.1% at 18.8200 to the dollar by 1400 GMT, while the dollar was more than 0.6% stronger against a basket of global currencies.
When there are no major local economic data releases like on Friday, the rand often takes its cue from offshore drivers and dollar moves.
South African data on Thursday included a weak PMI survey for the manufacturing sector and a continued contraction in new vehicle sales, pointing to a sluggish start to 2024 for Africa's most industrialised economy.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index was little changed. The yield on the 2030 government bond rose 7 basis points to 9.775%, reflecting a lower price.
(Reporting by Alexander WinningEditing by Mark Potter)
