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South Africa’s unemployment rate has increased to 33.2% in the 2nd quarter of 2025 from 32.9 recorded during the first quarter.
The country created 19 thousand jobs in the first quarter. More than 140 000 jobs were lost. Unemployment has ticked up in the South African economy.
Releasing the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Statistics South Africa reported that the official unemployment rate rose to 33.2% in the second quarter.
That compares to the 32.9% registered in the first quarter.
Stats SA says the number of unemployed persons grew by 140 000 to 8.4 million, while the number of employed persons increased by 19 000 to 16.8 million.
Discouraged work-seekers decreased by 28 000, down 0.8%, while the number of people deemed not economically active for reasons other than discouragement remained unchanged in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter.
The expanded unemployment rate for the second quarter decreased by 0.2 percentage points, coming in at 42.9%.
🧵#ZAunemployment || The official unemployment rate increased by 0,3 of a percentage point to 33,2% in Q2:2025 compared to Q1:2025.
Read more here: #StatsSA #KnowYourStatsZA #ZAemployment #GovZAUpdates pic.twitter.com/pBR1phpaKe
— Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) (@StatsSA) August 12, 2025
Quarterly Labour Force Survey results