Cape Town – South Africa’s unemployment rate fell to 31.9% in the third quarter of 2025, down from 33.2% in the previous quarter, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
In a media briefing held in Tshwane on 11 November, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke confirmed that the number of employed people increased by about 248 000, bringing the total to 17.1 million. The number of unemployed persons declined by 360 000, to just over eight million.
Maluleke explained that the improvement was mainly driven by job gains in the construction, community and social services, and trade sectors. “Between the second and third quarters of 2025, the number of people outside the labour force rose by 239 000, driven by an increase of 230 000 in the potential labour force and an increase of 8 000 among others outside the labour force,” he said.
#SAunemployment || The labour underutilisation rate (i.e.composite measure of labour underutilisation (LU4)) stood at 44,9% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to 44,7% in the same quarter of 2024.
🔗: https://t.co/0GPFvHGZ3N#StatsSA #KnowYourStatsZA #GovZAUpdates pic.twitter.com/YgUkQhS5AY
— Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) (@StatsSA) November 12, 2025
In a statement, the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, welcomed the improvement, particularly the growth in construction employment. “While South Africa’s official unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, I am encouraged that the construction sector is starting to play its role to meaningfully provide jobs and opportunities for South Africans across the country,” he said.
Stats SA, through its official advisory, indicated that the release formed part of its ongoing Quarterly Labour Force Survey and reflected adjusted labour-force definitions under its updated framework.
🇿🇦South Africa Unemployment Rate decreased to 31.90% from 33.20%
Image below shows changes per province pic.twitter.com/ewLosWOujj
— StockWave (@StockWaveNews) November 11, 2025
In a provincial context, the unemployment reduction was not uniform.I n the province of Limpopo the rate fell to 29.8 % from 35 % in Q2, representing the largest drop among the provinces.
As Premier Phophi Ramathuba remarked: “The 29,8% is not the ideal to celebrate but a step towards making sure that unemployment in our province is way below 20% as espoused in the Limpopo Development Plan.”
Meanwhile, in the Western Cape province, Premier Alan Winde also welcomed the drop, “This is the result of the hard work this government undertakes in partnership with businesses and companies in the Western Cape, building confidence and trust in pursuit of our apex priority of economic growth and job creation.”
Although the decline signals some progress, government officials and economists have cautioned that South Africa’s labour market remains fragile.
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Compiled by Lisabeal Nqamqhele
