South Africa Jobless Rate Up to 1-Year High, Tops Forecasts

South Africa's unemployment rate eased to 31.9% in Q3 2025, the lowest level since Q4 2024, compared to 33.2% in Q2, marking the first decline this year. The number of unemployed fell by 360,000 to 8.1 million, the labor force dropped by 112,000 to 25.1 million, and employed individuals rose by 248,000 to 17.1 million. The expanded unemployment rate, including discouraged workers, fell to 42.4% from 43% in Q2. Six of ten industries recorded job gains, led by construction (+130,000 to 1.39 million), community (+116,000 to 3.988 million), and trade (+108,000 to 3.424 million), while losses were concentrated in manufacturing (-62,000 to 1.61 million) and finance (-54,000 to 2.93 million). Unemployment declined in seven of nine provinces, with the largest drops in Limpopo (-5.2 points to 29.8%), Free State (-2.3 points to 36.2%), and North West (-2 points to 38.1%). The youth unemployment rate, measuring job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old, fell to a two-year low of 58.5% in Q3.

South Africa's unemployment rate rose further to 33.2% in Q2 2025, from 32.9% in Q1 and slightly above market estimates of 33%. It was the highest jobless rate since Q2 2024, as the number of unemployed individuals increased by 140,000 to a one-year high of 8.4 million while employed rose by 19,000 to 16.8 million. The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those discouraged from seeking work, eased to 42.9% in Q2 from 43.1% in Q1. The number of persons employed in the formal sector increased by 34,000, while employment in the informal sector declined by 19,000. The largest job gains were recorded in trade (+88,000), private households (+28,000), and construction (+20,000), while employment declined in community and social services (-42,000), agriculture (-24,000), finance (-24,000), transport (-15,000), utilities (-6,000), and manufacturing (-5,000). The youth unemployment rate, which measures job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old, eased to 62.2% from 62.4%.

South Africa's unemployment rate rose to 32.9% in Q1 2025, from an over one-year low of 31.9% in the previous three-month period, as the number of unemployed individuals increased by 237 thousand to 8.228 million. Meanwhile, employment declined by 291 thousand to 16.787 million, and the labor force fell by 54 thousand to 25.015 million. The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those discouraged from seeking work, rose to 43.1% from 41.9% in Q4. Five of the ten industries surveyed recorded job losses, primarily trade (-194 thousand to 3.228 million), construction (-119 thousand to 1.240 million) and private households (-68 thousand to 1.078 million). Conversely, the biggest increases were seen in transportation (+67 thousand to 1.131 million) and finance (+60 thousand to 3.008 million). The youth unemployment rate, which measures job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old, climbed to 62.4% in Q1 2025, the highest level since Q1 2022, from 59.6% in the previous period.