The latest Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) for the quarter ended in March has raised significant concerns as the report reveals a downturn in employment figures, exacerbating fears about the health of South Africa’s economy.
According to the findings, a total of 74 000 jobs were lost in the first quarter of 2025, signalling a decrease of 0.7% from December 2024, where total employment stood at 10 653 000, dipping to 10 579 000 by March.
The decline is largely attributed to substantial job losses in key sectors, including trade, which saw a steep reduction of 52 000 positions, and community services, which lost 17 000 jobs.
The mining sector also contributed to this downturn, shedding 4 000 jobs, while business services, construction, and electricity reported minor losses. Notably, the transport industry remained static throughout this period, while manufacturing experienced a slight increase, gaining 2 000 jobs.
Matthew Parks, spokesperson for the Congress of South African Trade Unions, they were concerned about the figures.
“Whilst there is normally an increase in jobs in the last quarter of each year as the festive season occurs and the retail and hospitality sectors experience a boom; this decrease in employment is nonetheless extremely worrying. The government must accelerate its efforts, working with business and labour, to rebuild the State,” Parks said.
Stats SA also highlighted a year-on-year decrease, with total employment falling by 95 000 or 0.9% between March 2024 and March 2025. The report indicated that full-time employment specifically dropped by 55 000 or 0.6% quarter-on-quarter, painting a grim picture of the job landscape.
Economists have responded similarly, with Lara Hodes from Investec noting the stark figures from the formal sector, where employment (excluding agriculture) fell by 0.7% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
“Quarter-on-quarter declines were logged in 6 of the 8 industries included in the survey, with the outcome indicative of a lacklustre economy. Economic growth rose marginally in the first quarter of the year as the economy continues to face a number of challenges, with weak business confidence, weighing on investment potential,” Hodes said.
Dr Elna Moolman, Standard Bank Group head of South Africa Macroeconomic Research, said that part of the weakness in the labour market was due to weakness in the economy this year.
“This stems from policy and political uncertainty both locally and globally. Unfortunately, this hardly improved in the second quarter and so the near-term numbers will remain weak,” Moolman said.
“We do however expect some economic growth in the second half of the year and that should lead to an improvement in the labour market.”
Casey Sprake, economist at Anchor Capital, echoed the sentiments, saying the softness in the labour market mirrored broader economic stagnation amid persistently weak business confidence, policy uncertainty, and low fixed investment.
“Structural reforms, particularly those under the newly launched Operation Vulindlela II, must urgently gain traction if South Africa is to shift from stagnation to inclusive, job-rich growth,” she said.
North-West University economics professor, Waldo Krugell, also said this mirrored what the economic growth numbers for the first quarter and the Quarterly Labour Force Survey.
“The economy hardly grew in the first quarter and the unemployment rate has increased. The QES confirms the job losses in the formal sector and the numbers are worrying,” Krugell said.
“I won’t attribute too much of this to international uncertainty and the trade wars. This has more to do with slow growth due to a loss of business confidence and too slow domestic reform.”
Abigail Moyo, spokesperson of the trade union Uasa, said they were deeply concerned about the outlook for employment rates.
“Only manufacturing showed slight growth, with a gain of 2,000 jobs.The reversing current economic outlook is not encouraging and fails to inspire hope, as major sectors such as Trade, Construction, and Community Services continue to experience significant declines,” Moyo said.
“This situation exacerbates the insecurity faced by workers who are already under pressure from high living cost.”
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