KZN records decrease in employment as unemployment rises to 32.9% nationally
South Africa remains among the leading countries in terms of unemployment. The latest figures released by Stats SA paint a bleak future for KZN and young people who are among the hardest hit, as unemployment shoots up to 32.9%.
AN increase of 1% in unemployment rates, from 31.9% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 to 32.9% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, paints a bleak picture for South Africa as the number of unemployed people rises, with KwaZulu-Natal seeing a decrease of 104 000 in employment.
The province leads the country in the decrease of employment, followed by Eastern Cape with 83 000, and North West at 57 000. According to Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q1 2025, there was a decrease of 291 000 in the number of employed persons to 16.8 million, down from 17.1 million in Q4 of 2024.
These figures were given weight by the rise in the number of discouraged jobseekers, which shot up by 0.2%, an equivalent of 7000. The addition of 177 000 persons who were not economically active is cause for concern for the country that is grappling with high unemployment rates. Stats SA said, “Decreases in employment were observed in KwaZulu-Natal (104 000), Eastern Cape (83 000), North West (57 000), Limpopo (55 000), Mpumalanga (43 000) and Northern Cape (12 000).
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“The youth (15 to 34 years) remain vulnerable in the labour market. The results for the first quarter of 2025 show that the total number of unemployed youth increased by 151 000 to 4.8 million, while employed youth recorded a decrease of 153 000 to 5.7 million. As a result, the youth unemployment rate increased from 44.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 46.1% in the first quarter of 2025.”
It was, however, not all bad news as there were some positive gains with the informal sector showing growth and employment increasing by 17 000 in Q1. “The largest industry increases in employment were recorded in Transport (67 000), Finance (60 000), and Utilities (35 000),” said Stats SA. “The results also indicate that increases in employment were observed in Western Cape (49 000), Gauteng (9 000) and Free State (4 000).”
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