The official unemployment rate was 33,2% in the second quarter of 2025.
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The latest data from Statistics South Africa indicated that South Africa's official unemployment rate has risen to 33.2% in the second quarter of 2025, up from 32.9% in the previous quarter.
However, expressing it as a percentage does not convey the severity of the issue.
In South Africa, approximately 25 million people are not working. If the number is too overwhelming to grasp, let's crunch the numbers. Keep in mind that the working-age population is 41.8 million people.
To provide clarity amid public discourse, Stats SA has offered precise definitions to IOL and shed light on the methodology.
Defining "Employed" Persons: The 16.8 million employed persons in Q2:2025 are, according to Stats SA's official definition, individuals aged 15–64 years who, during the reference week, performed any work for at least one hour, or who had a job or business but were temporarily absent. This clarifies that even part-time work contributes to the official employment count.
Clarifying "Official Unemployment": The 8.4 million officially unemployed persons meet specific, strict criteria as defined by Stats SA. These are individuals aged 15–64 years who were not employed in the reference week, but actively looked for work or tried to start a business in the four weeks prior to the survey, and were available for work. Some may also be included if they had a job to start at a future definite date and were available, even without actively searching.
The Nuance of "Expanded Unemployment" and "Discouraged Work-Seekers": Stats SA clarifies that 'Discouraged work-seekers' are specifically excluded from the official unemployment definition.
However, it's important to note that these individuals – who numbered 3.4 million in Q2:2025 – are crucial to understanding the bigger picture. They are included in the "expanded unemployment rate," which stood at 42.9% in Q2:2025, significantly higher than the official rate of 33.2%.
This expanded definition also accounts for those available for work but not searching for "other reasons". This distinction highlights the hidden challenges within the labour market, where many have simply given up looking for work.
Understanding the "Not Economically Active (NEA)" Population: The data shows 16.6 million people are "Not Economically Active" (NEA). This refers to the remainder of the working-age population after employed and officially unemployed persons are accounted for, following an "ILO hierarchy" where employed persons are counted first, then unemployed, and the rest are NEA.
This NEA group includes the 3.4 million discouraged work-seekers and 13.2 million "other Not Economically Active" individuals (e.g., students, homemakers, those too old/young to work, or with illness/disability).
The "25 million not working" in context: Drawing on these definitions, it becomes clear how we arrive at the approximate figure of 25 million people not working within the working-age population (8.4 million officially unemployed + 3.4 million discouraged work-seekers + 13.2 million other Not Economically Active).
Stats SA also affirmed that its methodologies are "clear and transparent," based on household responses and adjusted for non-respondents to ensure accuracy.
When viewed against the working-age population, the 25 million people who are not working represent approximately 59.8% of the entire working-age population in South Africa during Q2:2025.
Furthermore, when viewed against the total South African population of 63.1 million, this means that nearly 40% of the entire population is not working.
High Dependency Ratio: The large number of people not working (25 million) combined with those outside the working-age population (approximately 21.3 million) means that a large portion of the total population depends on the 16.8 million employed individuals.
This suggests a high dependency ratio, where a relatively small proportion of the population is economically active and supporting a much larger non-working population. This can place considerable strain on social services, public finances, and the employed individuals themselves.
Economic Burden: The substantial number of unemployed and Not Economically Active individuals, including those who are discouraged, indicates an underutilisation of human capital and a major drag on economic growth. It highlights the challenge South Africa faces in creating enough jobs and enabling broader participation in the economy.
Social and Developmental Challenges: Such high rates of non-employment can lead to various social challenges, including poverty, inequality, social unrest, and a lack of opportunities for a large segment of the population, particularly the youth.
Following the release of the statistics, Free SA reiterated its call for the national government to step back from unnecessary regulations, high compliance costs, and anti-growth policies that strangle business.
“Jobs give dignity and independence, but the current pace of growth is far too slow to make a dent in South Africa’s unemployment crisis,” said Reuben Coetzer, spokesperson for Free SA. “We cannot pat ourselves on the back for adding 0.3% more jobs when our working-age population is growing at the same rate – or faster. In real terms, we are standing still, while millions remain jobless.”