The province's expanded unemployment remained at a devastating 46.7%, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey by Statistics SA.
Stats SA says unemployment in South Africa has increased. Picture: iStock
The DA in Limpopo claims it has a plan to create quality jobs and swell the province’s economy if given a chance to lead government after the November polls. Limpopo’s official unemployment rate now stands at 32%, up from 31.7% in the last quarter of the 2025-26 financial year.
The province’s expanded unemployment remained at a devastating 46.7%, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey by Statistics SA.
Stats SA has flagged Limpopo as one of the provinces where the gap between official and expanded unemployment exceeds 14 percentage points. The province’s official unemployment increased from 31.7% in the first quarter of 2026 to 32% in the second quarter, substantially higher than the 28.2% in the final quarter of 2025.
‘Too many Limpopo residents leaving’
DA member of the Limpopo provincial legislature Lindy Wilson said it was even more concerning that Limpopo’s expanded unemployment rate was 46.7%, which means that almost one in two people in Limpopo’s extended labour force is without work. She said too many Limpopo residents are leaving in search of opportunities they cannot find at home.
“This should not be the reality of a province blessed with agricultural potential, mineral wealth, tourism assets and a strategic position as South Africa’s gateway to the north.
“Municipalities cannot create every job, but they can either enable economic growth or stand in its way. Businesses will struggle to invest and expand where water and electricity are unreliable, roads and other infrastructure deteriorate, municipal finances are mismanaged and bureaucracy makes it difficult to do business,” she said.
Wilson said the DA offers a different approach: professional municipalities staffed by competent people, reliable basic services, maintained infrastructure, sound financial management, less unnecessary red tape and local governments that actively enable investment and economic growth.
In her state of the province address early this year, Limpopo premier Phophi Ramathuba expressed discontent at the manner in which unemployment is rising in all sectors of the economy within Limpopo’s borders, despite the province’s increased contribution to the national gross domestic product from 7.2% to 7.7%.
