Unemployment is not evenly distributed across South Africa. The national unemployment rate was 32.1% for the July to September 2024 period, according to Statistics SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey.

The Western Cape is the only province with an unemployment rate below 30%. Currently at 19.6%, it has consistently remained below the national average since 2008.

Gauteng, the country’s economic powerhouse with the largest labour force of 7.6-million people, has an unemployment rate of 34%. KwaZulu-Natal, which has the second-largest labour force of 4-million people, has an unemployment rate of 31.2%. Its employment rate has been slightly below the national rate for more than a decade.

The Eastern Cape has the highest provincial unemployment rate at 37.2%, but the good news is that is has been improving since it peaked during the Covid pandemic.