South Africa’s official unemployment rate decreased by 0.2% to 31.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Statistics SA. The number of employed people increased by 132,000 to 17.1 million.
However, the number of discouraged work-seekers, who have given up on looking for a job, increased by 3.3% to 111,000. This means the expanded unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers, remained unchanged at 41.9%.
The formal sector created 90,000 new jobs, with significant increases in finance and manufacturing. However, sectors like trading, construction, and mining lost jobs.
Graduates saw a significant drop in unemployment, from 9.8% to 8.7%. In contrast, over 38% of those without a matric are unemployed.
The Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng saw the largest increases in employment, while the Free State, North West, and Limpopo experienced declines.
The youth unemployment rate decreased from 45.5% to 44.6% in the final quarter of 2024, with the total number of unemployed people under 35 falling by 133,000.