The Department of Public Service and Administration revealed government had almost 100 000 job vacancies across all departments.
The education and health sectors make up the overwhelming majority of vacancies in the public service.
Among two of the most critical sectors in government, there were 37 953 vacancies in national and provincial education departments, as well as 27 880 in health departments.
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) revealed that there were a total of 97 578 job posts available in all government departments, with 67.4 % of all vacancies in government departments being in education and health.
Government vacancies
The DPSA revealed the figures in a written reply to a recent parliamentary question.
Figures reflected the available positions across government departments for the last financial year ending in March 2025.
The national water and sanitation department has the highest percentage of vacancies at 23.89%, followed by the Northern Cape’s education department with 16.98%.
The Northern Cape’s health department also had a vacancy percentage of 14.81%, with the Eastern Cape, North West, and KwaZulu-Natal health departments all between 11% and 10%.
National police recorded a vacancy rate of 10.61%.
Other notable rates included the national departments of Public Works and Correctional Services, with 14.07% and 11.13%, respectively.
A list of the top 18 department with the highest vacancy rates. Picture: DPSA
Causes of vacancies
DPSA explained that the causes of the vacancies were both systemic and operational, mainly due to “natural attrition” factors like retirement, resignations, and death.
Additionally, fiscal constraints, restructuring and long recruitment processes were problematic, despite DPSA regulations stating that vacancies be filled within eight months.
“While the current vacancy rate presents operational challenges at the departmental level, departments continue to manage service delivery within available resources by prioritising critical functions and optimising existing capacity,” stated DPSA
DPSA confirmed that the training and development of staff were decentralised, and that departments operated under a directive to allocate only 1% of the personnel budget for training purposes.
“In terms of this directive, 50% of the 1% should be allocated to serving employees to attend compulsory training programmes and training related to addressing employee-identified skills gaps,” the department confirmed.
Western Cape health and wellness department
In the Western Cape’s health and wellness department, there were roughly 3 000 vacancies and a total employee complement of 33 137 — the fourth highest in the country behind Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and KZN.
The department briefed its Standing Committee in the provincial legislature on the reasons for its vacancies and improvements made in the new financial year.
The committee heard that austerity measures led to the loss of 1 862 posts, although new public service regulations stated that posts needed to be advertised nationally and shortlists created within three months.
The department revealed an 11-point priority plan that dealt with all matters of the workplace, from employee wellbeing and workforce planning to organisational culture and performance accountability.
“We are seeing a stabilisation in headcount numbers. Since April 2025, we have seen those entering the service exceed those entering.”
Gauteng education
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) had a 6% vacancy rate at the close of the financial year, with 4 620 vacant educator posts and 1 053 promotional posts.
GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona explained that most positions had acting appointments, including 694 positions that became vacant between January and March 2025.
“However, some were delayed by school governing bodies not adhering to management plans and their governance issues, including a few grievances,” Mabona told The Citizen.
Asked whether any specific subjects were affected by the vacancies, Mabona said there were systems in place to keep disruptions to a minimum.
“We do not experience any kind of specific learning area shortage as we have an Unemployed Educator Database where PL1 educator posts are advertised as and when they are vacant,” Mabona concluded.
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