By Anita Dangazele
- The Eastern Cape lost 32,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 53,000 in the third quarter of 2025.
- While the national unemployment rate fell to 31.4%, youth unemployment across South Africa rose to 43.8% in the fourth quarter.
The Eastern Cape now has the highest combined unemployment rate in South Africa, according to new figures from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
The province’s official unemployment rate stands at 42.5%. The expanded rate, which includes people who have stopped looking for work, has reached 51.4%. That means more than half the province’s potential workforce is unemployed.
The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows the Eastern Cape lost 32,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the third quarter, the province shed 53,000 jobs, making it the only province in the country to record net job losses during that period. At that time, the official unemployment rate stood at 41.2% and the expanded rate at 50.2%.
Nationally, the picture is slightly better. Stats SA spokesperson Dihlolelo Phoshoko said the country’s official unemployment rate dropped by 0.5 percentage points, from 31.9% in the third quarter of 2025 to 31.4% in the fourth quarter. The total number of employed people across the country increased to 17.1 million.
Provinces such as the Western Cape and Mpumalanga recorded job gains. This is the second quarter in a row that the national unemployment rate has eased, after reaching 33.2% in the second quarter of last year. Youth unemployment nationally, however, rose to 43.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Democratic Alliance Eastern Cape Official Leader of the Opposition Vicky Knoetze said weak leadership, poor service delivery, infrastructure breakdowns and corruption have made the province less competitive and less attractive to investors.
Action SA’s Matthew George said manufacturing has suffered catastrophic job losses, with plant closures in energy-intensive industries such as automotive components, steel, food processing and textiles. He said the result is fewer factories, weaker supply chains and fewer jobs.
Pictured above: A need a job sign.
Image source: File
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