The unemployment rate in South Africa currently stands at 32.1%, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). This is a drop from the second quarter, when the unemployment rate was 33.5%.
A statement released read:
According to the QLFS Q3: 2024 results, the number of employed persons increased by 294,000, reaching 16.9 million in Q3: 2024, while the number of unemployed persons decreased by 373,000 to 8.0 million. This resulted in a total decrease of 79,000 (or 0.3%) in the labour force over the same period.
Overall, the number of employed South Africans now stands at 16.9 million, while the number of unemployed individuals is at 8 million.
Stats SA also reported an increase in discouraged work-seekers—people who are able to work but are not actively looking for jobs—by 160,000. Additionally, the number of people not economically active for reasons other than discouragement rose by 54,000.
This led to an increase of 214,000 in the total not economically active population, bringing it to 16.5 million,
The expanded unemployment rate, which includes discouraged work-seekers, dropped by 0.7 percentage points to 41.9% in the third quarter of 2024, compared to the previous quarter.
Provincial Employment Figures
- Eastern Cape: Increased by 83,000
- Western Cape: Increased by 75,000
- North West: Increased by 69,000
- Mpumalanga: Increased by 49,000
- Gauteng: Decreased by 66,000
- KwaZulu-Natal: Decreased by 2,000
Employment grew in both the formal and informal sectors, with the formal sector adding 122,000 jobs and the informal sector growing by 165,000 jobs.
The industries that saw the largest increases in employment were Community and Social Services, Construction, and Trade. Conversely, employment decreased in the Finance, Private Households, Manufacturing, and Transport industries.
A major area of concern remains the high unemployment rate among young people. Stats SA noted:
The youth (ages 15 to 34) remain vulnerable in the labor market.
However, there was some positive movement in the third quarter, with 66,000 young people gaining employment and the number of unemployed youth decreasing by 171,000 to 4.8 million. The youth unemployment rate now stands at 45.5%.