South Africa’s official unemployment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points from 31.9% in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025 to 31.4% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025.
This is according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter of 2025 conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
The results show an increase of 44 000 in the number of employed persons to 17.1 million, while there was a decrease of 172 000 in the number of unemployed persons to 7.8 million compared with the third quarter of 2025 results.
This resulted in a decrease of 128 000 in the labour force for the same period.
“During the same period, discouraged job-seekers increased by 233 000 to 3.7 million, other available job-seekers decreased by 110 000 to 855 000, and unavailable job-seekers decreased by 41 000 to 42 000, resulting in a total net increase of 82 000 to 4.6 million in the potential labour force population (i.e., persons who were available but not seeking or unavailable but seeking).
“Others outside the labour force increased by 165 000 to 12.5 million. Outside the labour force, which is the total of the potential labour force and others outside the labour force, increased by 248 000 to 17.1 million in Q4 of 2025,” Stats SA said on Tuesday.
The number of persons employed in the formal sector increased by 320 000 in Q4: 2025, and informal sector employment decreased by 293 000 over the same period.
The largest increases in industry employment were recorded in community and social service (46 000), construction (35 000) and finance (32 000).
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Decreases in employment were recorded in Trade (98 000), Manufacturing (61 000) and Mining (5 000).
The results also indicate increases in employment observed in the Western Cape (93 000), Mpumalanga (37 000), North West (36 000), and Northern Cape (17 000).
The largest employment decreases were recorded in Gauteng (54 000), KwaZulu-Natal (41 000), and Eastern Cape (32 000) during the same period.
“The youth (15 – 34 years) remain vulnerable in the labour market. The results for the fourth quarter of 2025 show that the total number of unemployed youth decreased by 84 000 to 4.6 million compared with Q3: 2025, while employed youth recorded a decrease of 113 000 to 5.8 million.
“As a result, the youth unemployment rate increased by 0.1438 of a percentage point to 43.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025,” Stats SA said.
In addition to the unemployment rate (LU1), other measures of labour underutilisation (LU) were measured.
The combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment (LU2) decreased by 0.6 of a percentage point to 34.3%; the combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force (LU3) decreased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 42.1% in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter of 2025.
Lastly, the composite measure of labour underutilisation (LU4) — which combines time-related underemployment, unemployment, and potential labour force as a proportion of the extended labour force — was 44.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
These labour underutilisation measures highlight people in different situations and with different degrees of attachment to the labour market.