The only province in South Africa where more people are unemployed than working
The North West province still holds the dubious distinction of being the only province in South Africa where more adults are unemployed than working.
According to Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey, while South Africa’s overall unemployment rate improved slightly in the third quarter of 2024, declining to 32.1% from the previous quarter, the North West’s expanded unemployment rate has reached a staggering 51.5%.
This means over half of the province’s working-age population is either unemployed or has given up looking for work, highlighting an alarming economic imbalance.
Nationally, some positive strides were noted, with the number of employed persons increasing by 294,000 to 16.9 million.
Unemployment also dropped by 373,000 to 8.0 million, leading to a slight contraction in the labour force.
However, the gains were unevenly distributed across provinces and sectors. Discouraged work seekers rose by 160,000 (5.0%), pushing the not economically active population up by 214,000 to 16.5 million.
While the formal sector added 122,000 jobs, the informal sector experienced an even larger increase of 165,000 jobs, driven by industries like community and social services (+194,000), construction (+176,000), and trade (+109,000).
Yet, other industries such as finance (-189,000), private households (-32,000), manufacturing (-20,000), and transport (-18,000) reported job losses, demonstrating the uneven nature of employment recovery.
The data also highlighted stark provincial disparities. The Western Cape emerged as the province with the lowest official unemployment rate at 19.6%, maintaining its decade-long trend of outperforming the national average.
Limpopo (32.6%), KwaZulu-Natal (31.2%), and the Northern Cape (30.4%) followed, with each province showing varying degrees of labour market improvement.
By contrast, the Eastern Cape continues to grapple with consistently high unemployment rates, both officially and under the expanded definition, over the past decade.
Under the expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those who have stopped looking for work, the labour market picture becomes bleaker for many regions.
The Western Cape stands out as the only province with an expanded unemployment rate below 30%, signalling relative economic stability.
However, the North West’s rate of 51.5% reveals a deeply troubling scenario: More adults are economically inactive than engaged in any form of work.
Mpumalanga follows closely behind, with an expanded unemployment rate of 47.8%, underscoring widespread challenges across provinces.
While the North West recorded an increase of 69,000 in employment during Q3 2024, this improvement was insufficient to offset the overwhelming number of discouraged workers and unemployed individuals.
The region’s reliance on industries vulnerable to economic shocks, coupled with structural issues in education, infrastructure, and access to opportunities, perpetuates a cycle of stagnation.
For the North West, reversing this trend will require not only job creation but also measures to re-engage discouraged workers and stimulate long-term economic growth.
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