Approximately 36,000 jobs were added in North West and 17,000 in the Northern Cape, while Gauteng lost 54,000, the highest of all provinces. This still pushed the unemployment rate down by 0,5 percentage points from 31,9% in Q3.

The number of employed persons rose by 44,000 to 17.1-million. In contrast, the number of unemployed people fell by 172,000 to 7.8-million compared to the previous quarter, according to Statistics South Africa’s quarterly labour force survey for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Employment gains were recorded in the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, and North West. However, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape experienced the largest job losses.

“The results of the quarterly labour force survey for the fourth quarter of 2025 indicate that the working-age population in South Africa currently stands at 42.1-million,” said quarterly labour force survey director Dihlolelo Phoshoko.

“The youth 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 quarter three.”

Most of these were young people; 5.8-million of them were without jobs in the last quarter of 2025. The number of discouraged work-seekers, people who wanted employment but stopped searching because they could not find work, surged by 233,000 to 3.7-million.

‘In the fourth quarter 113,000 young people lost their jobs’

In the fourth quarter, 113,000 young people lost their jobs, pushing the total number of unemployed youth to 5.8-million.

Some of these young people did not have the required skills or experience, making their transition into employment much more challenging.

According to the data, youth with a matric qualification had a slim 4.8% chance of getting a job, while those with a tertiary qualification stood a better chance at 7.5%.

The largest increases in industry employment were recorded in community and social service, construction, and finance. Decreases in employment were recorded in trade, manufacturing, and mining.

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