South Africa’s official unemployment rate edged down to 31.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, from 31.9% in the previous quarter, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on 17 February 2026.
The QLFS estimates that employment rose slightly to about 17.1 million people, while the number of unemployed people fell to about 7.8 million. Despite the marginal improvement, Stats SA’s broader measure of labour underutilisation remains elevated, highlighting how many South Africans are still unable to find work or are only loosely attached to the labour market.
Key labour market indicators in Q4 2025
Stats SA’s headline results for the quarter include:
- Official unemployment rate: 31.4% (down 0.5 percentage points quarter on quarter)
- Employed people: 17.099 million (up 44,000 from the previous quarter)
- Unemployed people: 7.836 million (down 172,000 from the previous quarter)
- Labour force: 24.935 million (down 128,000 from the previous quarter)
- Labour force participation rate: 59.3% (down 0.4 percentage points)
- Absorption rate: 40.6% (down 0.1 percentage points)
- Expanded underutilisation (LU3): 42.1% (slightly down quarter on quarter)
The combined picture suggests that the official rate improved partly because fewer people were counted as unemployed, while the number of people outside the labour force increased.
Where jobs were gained and lost
Industry results show small gains overall, with growth concentrated in a few sectors.
Stats SA recorded the biggest quarter on quarter increases in:
- Community and social services: +46,000
- Construction: +35,000
- Finance: +32,000
- Agriculture: +30,000
The largest declines were recorded in:
- Trade: -98,000
- Manufacturing: -61,000
- Mining: -5,000
Reuters separately reported that the overall decline in unemployment came alongside a steep drop in informal work, while noting that trade, manufacturing, and mining were among areas of job losses during the quarter.
Informal work fell, while formal sector employment rose
One of the most significant shifts in the quarter was the movement between sectors.
Using updated international standards for measuring informality, Stats SA reported that informal sector employment fell by 293,000 between the third and fourth quarters of 2025, while the formal sector increased by 320,000 and employment in private households increased by 18,000. Stats SA also cautioned that these informality estimates (under the newer standard) are comparable with the previous quarter, but not with older series built on earlier definitions.
Reuters reported that the decline in informal jobs was linked in part to informal traders being removed in Johannesburg around the G20 summit period in November, framing this as a notable setback despite overall headline improvement.
This matters for two reasons:
- Informal work is often the entry point for people who cannot access formal hiring channels, especially in a slow growth economy.
- A swing away from informal work can raise vulnerability, because informal earnings frequently support households that are not captured by formal payroll systems.
Provincial unemployment: wide gaps remain
Stats SA’s provincial breakdown shows major differences across the country.
In Q4 2025, the official unemployment rate was:
- Western Cape: 18.1%
- Gauteng: 33.0%
- KwaZulu-Natal: 32.3%
- Eastern Cape: 42.5%
- North West: 35.1%
Stats SA reported that the official rate fell in six provinces quarter on quarter, with the largest decreases in the Northern Cape (down 4.1 percentage points), North West (down 3.0 percentage points), and Mpumalanga (down 1.7 percentage points). Increases were recorded in the Eastern Cape, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal.
Employment levels also shifted unevenly. Stats SA recorded quarter on quarter employment gains in the Western Cape, Mpumalanga, North West, and Northern Cape, while the largest losses were in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape.
Youth unemployment stays extremely high
While the national headline rate eased, the youth labour market remains under severe strain.
Using Stats SA’s QLFS age group counts, the combined unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 34 works out to about 43.8% in Q4 2025. This is derived from approximately 5.85 million employed and 4.55 million unemployed in the 15 to 34 age band.
Among people aged 15 to 24, Stats SA’s counts show about 1.143 million employed and 1.513 million unemployed in Q4 2025, underlining the depth of joblessness for new entrants to the labour market.
Stats SA also reported that there were about 10.3 million young people aged 15 to 24, and 34.0% were not in employment, education, or training (NEET), slightly higher than the same period a year earlier.
These indicators are closely watched because they signal whether young people are building skills and work experience, or becoming detached from both education and the labour market.
More South Africans are outside the labour force
Alongside the lower official unemployment rate, Stats SA recorded an increase in the number of people outside the labour force to 17.134 million, up by 248,000 from the previous quarter.
Within that, Stats SA reported:
- A rise in the potential labour force, including increases in available potential job seekers
- A notable increase in discouraged job seekers
This is a key reason why analysts often compare the official unemployment rate with broader underutilisation measures such as LU3, which includes people who want work but are not actively searching.
Why the QLFS series needs careful reading
Stats SA notes that the QLFS questionnaire was revised in the third quarter of 2025 to align with updated international labour statistics standards. The agency stated that headline employment and unemployment remain comparable, but that certain measures, including definitions linked to informality, have undergone revisions that affect comparability with older estimates.
For readers and policymakers, this means:
- The headline unemployment rate can be tracked across time in the usual way
- Some deeper breakdowns, particularly informality under the new standard, should be compared only within the updated series
What happens next
The QLFS is published quarterly, and Stats SA’s schedule in the release indicates the next issue (Quarter 1 of 2026) is expected in May 2026.
In the near term, the focus is likely to remain on whether modest job gains can be sustained in sectors that have been growing, and whether informal livelihoods recover after the sharp decline reported in Q4 2025.
