Unemployment drops: Western Cape leads job growth while Gauteng sheds jobs

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has released the latest employment figures, showing an improvement in the labour market as more people find work. Data released on Tuesday shows that the Western Cape recorded the highest increase in employment, while Gauteng recorded the highest decrease. Despite broader shifts in employment, the country’s youth continue to bear the brunt of unemployment, remaining the most vulnerable group in the labour market.

According toStats SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2025, the official unemployment rate is 31.4%, down 0.5 percentage points from31.9% in the third quarter of 2025. Stats SA revealed on Tuesday that 44 000 people found jobs between October and December 2025, increasing the number of employed people to 17.1 million, while there was a decrease of 172 000 in the number of unemployed persons to 7.8 million. “This resulted in a decrease of 128 000 (or 0.5%) in the labour force in the same period.” According toStats SA, the number of discouraged job-seekers rose by 233 000 to 3.7 million in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, other available job-seekers declined by 110 000 to 855 000, and unavailable work-seekers fell by 41 000 to 42 000. Overall, this resulted in a net increase of 82 000, bringing the potential labour force, those either available but not actively looking for work, or looking but not currently available, to 4.6 million. In addition, other outside the labour force increased by 165 000 to 12.5 million.

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Outside the labour force, which is the total of the potential labour force and other outside the labour force, increased by 248 000 to 17.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Stats SA says that, in addition to the unemployment rate, other measures of labour underutilisation were measured. The combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 34.3%, while the combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 42.1% in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter of 2025.

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