TSHWANE: South Africa’s official unemployment rate fell to 31.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, its lowest level since the third quarter of 2020, according to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey released on Feb. 17. The rate eased from 31.9% in July to September 2025. South Africa is among Africa’s largest and most industrialised economies, and the labour market remains under pressure despite the latest improvement.
Statistics South Africa reported 17.099 million people were employed in October to December 2025, up 44,000 from the prior quarter. The number of unemployed people declined by 172,000 to 7.836 million. The labour force decreased by 128,000 to 24.935 million, while the working age population rose by 120,000 to 42.068 million. The labour force participation rate edged down to 59.3% and the absorption rate was 40.6%.
Broader measures of labour underutilisation also improved slightly. The combined rate of unemployment and time related underemployment was 34.3% in the quarter, and the combined rate of unemployment and the potential labour force was 42.1%. Statistics South Africa reported 705,000 people were time related underemployed. The number of discouraged job seekers rose to 3.714 million, while people outside the labour force increased to 17.134 million.
Employment gains were concentrated in a few sectors. Community and social services added 46,000 jobs, construction gained 35,000, finance added 32,000 and agriculture increased by 30,000. Job losses were recorded in trade, down 98,000, manufacturing, down 61,000, and mining, down 5,000. Using updated classifications, formal sector employment rose by 320,000 while informal sector employment fell by 293,000, with Statistics South Africa noting the revised informality estimates are comparable only with the third quarter of 2025.
Labour market measures beyond the headline rate
Youth indicators remained elevated. Using the survey’s 15 to 34 age group, the unemployment rate for young people was 43.8% in the fourth quarter. For ages 15 to 24, the unemployment rate was 57.0%, while the rate for ages 25 to 34 was 39.2%. Statistics South Africa also reported that about 10.3 million people aged 15 to 24 were in the population, and 34.0% were not in employment, education or training, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier.
Regional results continued to show wide differences. The Western Cape recorded the lowest provincial unemployment rate at 18.1%, while the Eastern Cape had the highest at 42.5%. Gauteng’s unemployment rate was 33.0% and KwaZulu Natal’s was 32.3%. Over the quarter, employment increases were recorded in North West, up 38,000, Mpumalanga, up 29,000, Free State, up 21,000, and Limpopo, up 9,000, while employment decreased in KwaZulu Natal, down 176,000, Eastern Cape, down 79,000, and Northern Cape, down 18,000.
Revisions and recent trend since mid 2025
The latest quarter extended a decline from the mid 2025 peak, when the official unemployment rate reached 33.2% in April to June 2025 before falling to 31.9% in July to September and 31.4% in October to December. Statistics South Africa said the quarter to quarter drop in unemployment coincided with a smaller labour force and a larger number of people outside the labour force. The survey also showed the potential labour force increased to 4.611 million.
Statistics South Africa said it updated parts of the survey to align with international labour statistics standards, including changes to concepts related to the population outside the labour force and revisions to the definitions of formal and informal work. In a separate statement on Feb. 17, the government welcomed the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey results, pointing to the increase in employment and the decline in the number of unemployed people during the quarter. – By Content Syndication Services.