The Eastern Cape has emerged as the province with the highest official unemployment rate in South Africa, highlighting deepening regional disparities in the labour market.
Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke reported this on Tuesday during the release of the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) results.
This comes as the official unemployment rate declined slightly in the fourth quarter of 2025, as modest employment gains and a drop in the number of unemployed persons helped ease labour market pressures.
Statistics South Africa said the number of employed persons increased by 44,000 to 17.1 million in the quarter, while the number of unemployed persons fell by 172,000 to 7.8 million compared with the third quarter.
However, Maluleke noted that while the North West had in previous quarters overtaken the Eastern Cape in terms of the combined rate of unemployment.
The Eastern Cape now leads with an unemployment rate of 42.5% followed by the Free State at 37.2% and North West at 35.1%. By contrast, provinces performing below the national average include Limpopo at 28.2%, Northern Cape at 27.1%, and the Western Cape at 18.1%, the lowest in the country.
When broader measures are considered, the picture remains stark. The combined rate of unemployment and the potential labour force, which includes discouraged work-seekers, places the Eastern Cape at 51.4%, followed closely by North West at 50.9%. These figures underscore the depth of labour market exclusion in largely rural provinces.
The persistent gap between provinces, particularly between rural and urban economies, reflects uneven access to infrastructure, economic opportunity and investment.
While provinces such as the Western Cape continue to demonstrate relatively stronger labour market absorption, others remain burdened by limited industrial diversification and geographic isolation from major economic hubs.
Urban provinces continue to record comparatively better outcomes. The Western Cape’s combined unemployment and potential labour force rate stands at 23.7%, while Gauteng is at 39.4%.
Maluleke said the structural divide between rural and urban provinces remains evident.
“The lowest that we see are your urban provinces, the Western Cape and Gauteng. Otherwise, the rural provinces still continue to face a challenge. And of course, what happens is that the rural provinces are far away from urban centers,” he said.
“And indeed, your apartheid spacial arrangements do still have an effect in the labor markets in South Africa.”
A decade-long view of provincial trends shows persistent divergence.
The Western Cape has consistently recorded unemployment rates below the national average over the past 10 years. In contrast, the Eastern Cape has remained structurally above the national benchmark throughout the period.
North West, which previously tracked closer to the national average, is now beginning to show a widening gap above it.
Maluleke said Gauteng’s unemployment rate has generally moved in line with national trends, albeit slightly higher. KwaZulu-Natal had previously remained below the national average but is now converging with it.
Limpopo, which historically recorded unemployment rates below the national average, is also gradually catching up, signalling mounting labour market pressure in the province.
Despite the entrenched structural challenges, Maluleke said there were improvements in several provinces between the third and fourth quarters of 2025.
“The official unemployment rate decreased in six provinces between the third and the fourth quarter of 2025. The largest decreases were in the Northern Cape, the North West, and Mpumalanga,” he said.
The latest data reinforces the reality that South Africa’s unemployment crisis is not evenly distributed. Instead, it is deeply regional, shaped by historical spatial patterns and uneven economic development.
BUSINESS REPORT
Siphelele Dludla
iol.co.za