By Rorisang Modiba
- Stats SA says unemployment drops to 31.9% after 248,000 people find jobs, but 3.5 million discouraged job seekers remain outside the labour force.
- When discouraged workers and people who have stopped looking for jobs are counted, the unemployment rate rises to 44.9%.
South Africa has more people working than last quarter, but millions are still sitting at home with no chance of finding a job.
Stats SA’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows the unemployment rate dropped to 31.9% in the third quarter of 2025. It was 33.2% in the previous quarter.
About 248,000 people found work, pushing the number of employed South Africans to 17.1 million. The number of unemployed people fell by 360,000 to 8 million.
But the labour force, which includes people working or looking for work, dropped by 112,000. This means many people have stopped searching altogether because they have lost hope.
There are now 3.5 million discouraged job seekers. Another 1 million people say they are available to work but are not looking. Stats SA calls these groups the “Potential Labour Force”.
Stats SA has also changed some of its wording. “Not Economically Active” is now called “Outside the Labour Force”. Because of these changes, some figures cannot be compared to older reports.
When discouraged workers and people who have given up searching are included, the expanded unemployment rate sits at 44.9%.
The Western Cape has the lowest unemployment rate at 19.7%. Limpopo follows at 29.8%.
The Eastern Cape is at 50.2%, and North West is worst at 52.5%, with more people jobless than working. Mpumalanga also faces high joblessness at 47.5%.
The report shows that while a few more people are working, South Africa’s unemployment crisis is still severe and deeply uneven.
Pictured above: A need a job sign.
Image source: File
