Pretoria: The official unemployment rate in South Africa has increased by 1% to reach 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025.

According to South African Government News Agency, Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released on Tuesday morning, highlighted a decrease of 291,000 in the number of employed persons, bringing the total down to 16.8 million from 17.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. In contrast, the number of unemployed persons rose by 237,000, reaching 8.2 million. This shift resulted in a decrease of 54,000, or 0.2%, in the overall labour force during the same period.

The report noted an increase of 7,000 discouraged work-seekers, a 0.2% rise, and an increase of 177,000, or 1.4%, in individuals not economically active for reasons other than discouragement. Consequently, the not economically active population grew by 184,000 to a total of 16.7 million.

Furthermore, the expanded unemployment rate saw an increase of 1.2 percentage points, rising to 43.1%. The formal sector employment decreased by 245,000 in the first quarter of 2025, while the informal sector saw a slight increase of 17,000. Significant employment increases were recorded in the transport (67,000), finance (60,000), and utilities (35,000) industries. Conversely, declines were observed in trade (194,000), construction (119,000), private households (68,000), community and social services (45,000), and mining (35,000).

The provincial employment changes varied, with the Western Cape seeing an increase of 49,000 and Gauteng an increase of 9,000. Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal experienced a significant decrease of 104,000, alongside declines in the Eastern Cape (83,000), North West (57,000), Limpopo (55,000), Mpumalanga (43,000), and Northern Cape (12,000).

The report also emphasized the vulnerability of South African youth in the labor market. The number of unemployed youth increased by 151,000 to 4.8 million, while employed youth decreased by 153,000 to 5.7 million. This led to a rise in the youth unemployment rate from 44.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 46.1% in the first quarter of 2025.