By Thapelo Molefe
South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose to 33.2% in the second quarter of 2025, up 0.3 percentage points from 32.9% in the first quarter, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) announced on Tuesday.
The first quarter had already seen a rise from a more than one-year low of 31.9% recorded in the preceding six-month period, as the number of unemployed individuals increased by 237,000 to 8.228 million.
In the second quarter, the employment rate fell by 291,000 to 16.787 million, while the labour force declined by 54,000 to 25.015 million.
Briefing the media on Tuesday, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said the number of unemployed South Africans grew by 140,000 to 8.4 million, while the number of employed people rose slightly by 19,000.
He noted that this modest employment growth was insufficient to keep pace with the expanding labour force.
“The number of jobs we are creating as a country is
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