South Africa Unemployment Rate

South Africa's unemployment rate rose further to 33.2% in Q2 2025, from 32.9% in Q1 and slightly above market estimates of 33%. It was the highest jobless rate since Q2 2024, as the number of unemployed individuals increased by 140,000 to a one-year high of 8.4 million while employed rose by 19,000 to 16.8 million. The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those discouraged from seeking work, eased to 42.9% in Q2 from 43.1% in Q1. The number of persons employed in the formal sector increased by 34,000, while employment in the informal sector declined by 19,000. The largest job gains were recorded in trade (+88,000), private households (+28,000), and construction (+20,000), while employment declined in community and social services (-42,000), agriculture (-24,000), finance (-24,000), transport (-15,000), utilities (-6,000), and manufacturing (-5,000). The youth unemployment rate, which measures job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old, eased to 62.2% from 62.4%.