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While there was hope that less load shedding and more investment would bring more jobs, the economy shed 291 000 jobs.
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Unemployment in South Africa increased by a full 1% in the first quarter of 2025, with the economy shedding 291 000 jobs. This means that only 16.8 million South Africans are working, down from 17.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
According to the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey conducted by Statistics South Africa (Statistics SA) and released on Tuesday, 13 May, the official unemployment rate was 32.9%. This is after an increase of 237 000 in the number of unemployed people to 8.2 million, resulting in a decrease of 54 000 (down by 0.2%) in the labour force.
The increase in unemployment was also due to the number of discouraged work-seekers increasing by 7 000 (up by 0.2%) and the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement increasing by 177 000 (up by 1.4%) between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.
Statistics SA says this led to an increase of 184 000 in the number of the not economically active population, to 16.7 million.
These changes in employment and unemployment resulted in the official unemployment rate increasing by 1% from 31.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025:
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The expanded unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 1.2% to 43.1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 when it was 41.9%. The expanded unemployment rate includes people who are unemployed and actively looking for work, as well as people who have become discouraged from seeking employment and are not actively searching.
The formal sector lost jobs, while the informal sector added jobs during the first three months of the year. The number of people employed in the formal sector decreased by 245 000, while informal sector employment increased by 17 000.
Industries that added the most jobs are transport, which added 67 000 jobs, finance added 60 000 and utilities added 35 000. Industries that shed jobs are trade (-194 000), construction (-119 000), private households (-68 000), community and social services (-45 000) and mining (-35 000).
It is concerning that so many jobs were lost in construction while government is focusing on building infrastructure, while the 68 000 jobs lost in private households point to consumers not being able to afford domestic workers, gardeners and caregivers due to the cost-of-living crisis.
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The survey results also indicate that jobs were added in three provinces, but that six provinces shed jobs. Increases in employment were observed in the Western Cape, which added 49 000 jobs, Gauteng, which added 9 000 jobs, and the Free State, which added 4 000 jobs.
However, jobs were shed in KwaZulu-Natal (-104 000), Eastern Cape (-83 000), North West (-57 000), Limpopo (-55 000), Mpumalanga (-43 000) and the Northern Cape (-12 000).
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Statistics SA points out that the youth, defined as people between the ages of 15 and 34, remain vulnerable in the labour market. The results for the first quarter 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.
The unemployment rate for population groups shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate for black Africans was 37.0%, 23.6% for coloureds, 13.3% for Indians and 7.3% for whites.
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