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Unemployment in South Africa in Q2 jumps past 33% as jobs crisis deepens

Details

Stats SABusinessTech reports that the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) from Stats SA shows that SA’s unemployment rate has increased again, jumping to 33.2% in the second quarter of the year (Q2). This is up from the 32.9% recorded in the first quarter of 2025, which itself was higher than the 31.9% recorded in the quarter before.

The QLFS for Q2 released on Tuesday revealed that the number of employed people rose by 19,000 to 16.8-million, while the number of unemployed people increased by 140,000 to 8.4-million. Discouraged work-seekers decreased by 28,000 (down by 0.8%), while the number of persons who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement remained unchanged. This resulted in the unemployment rate increasing by 0.3 percentage points to 33.2%. The expanded unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2025 decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 42.9% when compared with the first quarter of 2025.

According to Stats SA, the number of persons employed in the formal sector increased by 34,000 in Q2, and the informal sector employment decreased by 19,000 over the same period. The largest industry increases in employment were recorded in Trade (88,000), Private households (28,000) and Construction (20,000). Decreases in employment were recorded in Community and social services (42,000), Agriculture (24,000), Finance (24,000), Transport (15,000), Utilities (6,000) and Manufacturing (5,000). The highest increases in employment were in Gauteng (95,000) and Eastern Cape (89,000), while decreases were observed in Western Cape (117,000), KwaZulu-Natal (86,000) and Northern Cape (28,000).

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessTech
  • Read too, Jobless rate climbs to 33.2%, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)


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