The number of unemployed persons in South Africa decreased to 7836 Thousand in the fourth quarter of 2025 from 8007 Thousand in the third quarter of 2025. Unemployed Persons in South Africa averaged 5867.40 Thousand from 2001 until 2025, reaching an all time high of 8384.00 Thousand in the second quarter of 2024 and a record low of 3984.00 Thousand in the first quarter of 2006. source: Statistics South Africa

Unemployed Persons in South Africa is expected to be 8200.00 Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the South Africa Unemployed Persons is projected to trend around 7885.00 Thousand in 2027 and 8000.00 Thousand in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2025-11-11 09:30 AM
Unemployed Persons
Q3 8.007M 8.367M 8.1M
2026-02-17 09:30 AM
Unemployed Persons
Q4 7.836M 8.007M 7.9M
2026-05-13 09:30 AM
Unemployed Persons
Q1 7.836M 8.2M


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Employed Persons 17099.00 17055.00 Dec 2025
Employment Rate 40.60 40.70 percent Dec 2025
Labor Force Participation Rate 59.30 59.70 percent Dec 2025
Population 63.10 63.02 Million Dec 2025
Unemployed Persons 7836.00 8007.00 Thousand Dec 2025
Unemployment Rate 31.40 31.90 percent Dec 2025
Wages 29490.00 29402.00 ZAR/Month Sep 2025
Wages in Manufacturing 24998.00 24464.00 ZAR/Month Sep 2025
Youth Unemployment Rate 57.00 58.50 percent Dec 2025


South Africa Unemployed Persons
In South Africa, unemployed persons are individuals who are without a job and actively seeking to work.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
7836.00 8007.00 8384.00 3984.00 2001 - 2025 Thousand Quarterly
Volume, NSA