KwaZulu-Natal experiences a significant rise in job losses, with new labour data revealing a complex unemployment crisis.
Image: Ron Lach/Pexels
KwaZulu-Natal recorded a net loss of 41,000 jobs in the final quarter of 2025, as newly expanded labour force data presented at the provincial Jobs and Skills Summit revealed a deeper and more complex unemployment crisis than previously measured.
Speaking at the summit hosted by Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli and Economic Development MEC Musa Zondi at the Durban ICC on Tuesday, Statistics South Africa’s Anneline Creighton said recent methodological changes now capture previously unmeasured forms of labour underutilisation.
Creighton said the revised Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), aligned with International Labour Organization standards, now includes “time-related underemployment” and a broader “potential labour force.”
“This essentially says there are persons available to work, but they are not given sufficient hours,” she said. “We are now capturing those hours as underemployment.”
The changes also include people who are willing to work but not actively searching, as well as students seeking entry into the labour market.
Nationally, the official unemployment rate declined slightly to 31.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, down by 0.5 percentage points. However, when the expanded indicators are included, the combined rate rises sharply to 42.1%, representing about 12.4 million people either unemployed or outside the labour force but still wanting work.
Creighton said this broader measure “gives an idea of the full extent of those that are actually not working.”
In KwaZulu-Natal, the picture is worsening. The provincial unemployment rate increased from 31.7% to 32.3%, marking the first time the province has exceeded the national average in recent quarters.
“We had about 16,000 more people unemployed,” she said. “We’ve lost 41,000 jobs in KZN for quarter four.”
The losses were concentrated in trade and community services, while modest gains were recorded in transport, finance, and agriculture.
The data also points to structural challenges. Long-term unemployment defined as joblessness exceeding 12 months, now accounts for about 80% of all unemployed people nationally.
“Youth are still bearing the brunt of unemployment,” Creighton said, noting that those aged 15 to 24 face unemployment rates as high as 57%.
The revised data further shows that about one-third of South Africa’s youth—roughly 3.5 million people—are not in employment, education, or training (NEET), underscoring the scale of disengagement from the economy.
Education remains a key differentiator. Graduates face an unemployment rate of 10.3%, significantly lower than those without matric (37.6%). However, in KwaZulu-Natal, graduate unemployment stands at 19.9%, nearly double the national figure.
Creighton said the expanded data also highlights the composition of those outside the labour force, with students making up 36.7%, followed by discouraged work-seekers at around one-fifth.
“These are the people that we actually really have to focus on in terms of tackling unemployment and absorbing them into the economy,” she said.
The summit, convened to address unemployment and skills shortages, is expected to focus on aligning education and training systems with labour market demands, as well as improving pathways into employment.
For more stories from The Mercury, click the link THE MERCURY