There are now 8.4 million unemployed people, an increase of 140 000 since the first quarter of 2025 (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 33.2% in the second quarter of 2025 from 32.9% in the previous quarter, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.
This was the third consecutive rise in unemployment since the final quarter of 2024, and the highest level since the second quarter of that year.
The number of employed people increased by 19 000 to 16.8 million, while that of unemployed people rose substantially by 140 000 to 8.4 million. The labour force, which is composed of people aged 15 to 64 who are actively seeking employment, increased by 159 000.
The labour force participation rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 60.2%, while the absorption rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 40.2% from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2025, according to the statistics agency.
Employment increased in four of the 10 industries. Gains were observed in the formal sector (up by 34 000) and private households (up by 28 000), as well as in the construction sector (20 000) and mining industries (3 000).
The largest decreases in employment were recorded in community and social services (42 000), followed by finance and agriculture (24 000 each), and transport (15 000). Jobs in the informal sector fell by 19 000 during the period.
“Statistics South Africa’s figures showing that unemployment rose in the second quarter is alarming, considering there was cautious optimism after last year’s election that the government of national unity [GNU] would raise investor confidence and employment opportunities, ” said Shawn Duthie, an analyst and director at Control Risks.
“Instead, we have seen unemployment rise quarter-on-quarter since the GNU was formed.
“This shows that investor confidence is much lower than initially thought and business is still wary about going forward with long-term investments, which would necessitate more hiring.”
The expanded unemployment rate — which includes discouraged work seekers — eased to 42.9% compared with 43.1% during the first quarter of 2025.
Economists say joblessness is higher than the official rate, pointing to the discouraged job seekers and that informal and underemployed workers are not included in the statistics.
“Many individuals in South Africa are trapped in low-skilled and precarious employment, leading to underemployment and persistent poverty,” said Casey Sprake, an economist at Anchor Capital.
“Moreover, in the domestic economy, material job creation has only occurred when GDP growth approaches 3% per annum.
“Currently, businesses remain under significant pressure from the ongoing effects of loadshedding, which also weighs on jobs and the unemployment data. Thus, the economy is simply not growing at an adequate rate to sustainably boost long-term employment prospects for South Africans.”
South Africa’s economy grew by a modest 0.1% in the first quarter of 2025.
The data comes days after the United States’ 30% tariff on local goods kicked in, which is slated to hurt South Africa’s jobs sector significantly, particularly in the agriculture, vehicle and steel industries.
“It’s likely that unemployment will rise in the third quarter as well because of the tariffs,” Duthie said.
“We’re still a long way off from getting unemployment to below 30% again, and also seeing the economy grow above 2%. We need to increase formal employment, which will only happen if businesses are entering the economy and growing.”
*The story has been updated with comments from analysts