The latest data released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) shows that country’s official unemployment rate eased by 1.3% from 33.2% recorded in the second quarter to 31.9% in the third quarter of 2025.
The Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows that there was a 248 000 increase in the number of employed persons to 17.1 million while the number of unemployed persons decreased by 360 000 to 8 million.
During the same period, discouraged jobseekers increased by 36 000 to 3.5 million, other available jobseekers increased by 130 000 to 965 000, and unavailable jobseekers increased by 64 000 to 83 000, resulting in a total net increase of 230 000 to 4.5 million in the potential labour force population.
#SAunemployment ||
Stats SA is responsive to labour market changes. In line with international best practice, #StatsSA adopted the resolutions of the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS).
Read more here: https://t.co/0GPFvHHwTl#GovZAUpdates #SAemployment pic.twitter.com/pObNJ1HWuD
— Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) (@StatsSA) November 11, 2025
