South Africa’s unemployment rate rises again

South Africa’s unemployment crisis deepened in the second quarter of 2025, with the official unemployment rate climbing by 0.3 percentage points to 33.2%, up from 32.9% in the first quarter. 

Meanwhile, the expanded unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 42.9% in Q2 2025

Over the past decade, South Africa’s official unemployment rate has increased from 25% to 33.2%, and the expanded definition has risen from 34.9% to 42.9%.

This was outlined in the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), published by Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke on 12 August.

It reveals a challenging labour market where the number of unemployed individuals continues to outpace job creation.

During Q2 2025, the country saw approximately 159,000 more people entering the workforce. 

However, only 19,000 new jobs were created in the period, while the number of unemployed people surged by 140,000. 

This significant imbalance contributed directly to the rise in the official unemployment rate. 

Encouragingly, the number of discouraged work-seekers decreased by 28,000 (a 0.8% decline), indicating a slight positive shift in job-seeking sentiment despite the overall unemployment increase. 

The expanded unemployment rate, which includes discouraged work-seekers and those not actively looking for work for other reasons but are available to work, saw a slight decrease of 0.2 percentage points, settling at 42.9% in Q2 2025.

Provincial unemployment breakdown

The increase in unemployment was not uniformly distributed across the country, with varying impacts at the provincial level. 

The official unemployment rate increased in six provinces between Q1:2025 and Q2:2025, with the Northern Cape (NC) recording the largest increase, jumping by 3.2 percentage points.

Notably, the Western Cape has consistently maintained an unemployment rate below South Africa’s national average over the past ten years. 

In stark contrast, the Eastern Cape has consistently recorded unemployment rates above the national level during the same period.

Province / Area	Percentage	Q1 vs Q2 Change
North West (NW)	40.1%	Decreased by 0.3 percentage points
Free State (FS)	39.5%	Increased by 0.2 percentage points
Eastern Cape (EC)	38.5%	Increased by 0.6 percentage points
Limpopo (LP)	35.0%	Increased by 1.7 percentage points
Gauteng (GP)	34.0%	Decreased by 1.4 percentage points
Mpumalanga (MP)	33.8%	Increased by 1.1 percentage points
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)	33.4%	Increased by 0.9 percentage points
Northern Cape (NC)	32.7%	Increased by 3.2 percentage points (largest increase)
Western Cape (WC)	21.1%	Decreased by 0.9 percentage points
South Africa (National)	33.2%	Increased by 0.3 percentage points

When considering the expanded unemployment rate for Q2 2025, the North West (54.7%) recorded the highest rate, followed by Mpumalanga (48.4%). 

Provinces like North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape showed significant disparities, with more than a 14 percentage point difference between their expanded and official unemployment rates.

Sectoral employment shifts

An analysis of employment by sector shows mixed results.

The formal sector managed to add 34,000 jobs in Q2 2025, reaffirming its position as the largest contributor to total employment, accounting for 68.2%. 

In contrast, informal sector employment saw a decrease of 19,000 jobs over the same period.

The largest employment gains were recorded in the Trade (88,000 jobs) and Private Households (28,000 jobs) industries. 

Conversely, significant job losses were observed in the Services (42,000), Agriculture (24,000), and Finance (24,000) industries.

Ongoing data capturing debate

Stats SA recently announced plans to revise and review certain aspects of its surveys to better capture information about South Africa’s informal sector. 

This move follows engagements with Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke, and other key figures, including former Capitec Bank CEO Gerrie Fourie.

Fourie had previously raised concerns about the undercounting of the informal sector and its potential impact on overall unemployment figures. 

Stats SA is now evaluating additional statistical tools, including the development of a statistical register for small-scale and informal businesses.

However, Maluleke dismissed criticism by the former head of major local bank Capitec that the statistics agency was underestimating the number of people with informal jobs.

He said that his agency had always measured that and made its numbers available, adding that South Africa would be making “a big mistake as a country if we want to assume that we do not have an unemployment challenge”.

Desiree Manamela, chief director of labour statistics, said updates to the way Statistics SA collects unemployment data that will be rolled out in the next quarter were unlikely to significantly affect the official jobless rate.