South Africa’s unemployment rate has decreased slightly in the third quarter of 2025 to 31.9%, down from 33.2%, thanks to job gains in construction, social services, and trade.
Despite this modest improvement, unemployment remains above 30%, a level difficult to recover from since the COVID-19 pandemic. Six of ten major industries showed employment growth, with the largest increases in construction, social services, and trade. With the government updating its employment survey methods to better capture informal jobs, especially in construction, experts emphasize that higher investment levels are needed to sustain job growth, as the economy remains weak despite some signs of recovery.
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