THE Free State recorded one of the strongest improvements in employment in South Africa during the third quarter of 2025, according to Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey.
While the national unemployment rate declined by 1.3 percentage points – from 33.2 percent in the second quarter to 31.9 percent in the third – the Free State outperformed most provinces with a notable 2.3 percentage point drop, from 38.5 percent to 36.2 percent.
Only Limpopo posted a larger decline, falling by 5.2 percentage points to 29.8 percent.
The province’s combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force also improved, decreasing by 1.1 percentage points to 42.7 percent, signalling a gradual strengthening in labour absorption.
The composite measure of labour underutilisation, which includes discouraged and underemployed workers, dropped by 1.4 percentage points to 45.8 percent.
Employment in the Free State increased by about 16 000 quarter-on-quarter – from 766 000 to 782 000 – marking a 2.1 percent rise.
Year-on-year, the province added 7 000 jobs, reflecting modest but positive growth of 0.9 percent.
Most of these gains were concentrated in the formal sector, which employs nearly 553 000 workers, while the informal sector contributed about 164 000 jobs.
Despite this progress, the Free State’s unemployment rate of 36.2 percent remains above the national average and well higher than those in more industrialised provinces such as the Western Cape (19.7 percent) and Gauteng (33.1 percent).
However, it fares better than the Eastern Cape, which continues to record the country’s highest unemployment rate at 41.2 percent.
The province’s labour force participation rate dipped slightly to 63.1 percent, indicating that some working-age individuals have moved out of active job seeking.
Meanwhile, the absorption rate – the share of the working-age population that is employed – improved marginally to 40.2 percent, suggesting small but meaningful progress in job creation.
Nationally, total employment rose by 248 000 to reach 17.1 million, while the number of unemployed people fell by 360 000 to 8.0 million.
However, the number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 36 000 to 3.5 million, reflecting persistent challenges in connecting jobseekers with opportunities.
With these results, the Free State’s labour market appears to be stabilising after a difficult start to 2025.
Still, high unemployment – particularly among young people and low-skilled workers – continues to constrain provincial growth.
As the country heads into 2026, sustaining the province’s employment momentum through targeted investment in manufacturing, agriculture and service industries will be crucial to achieving a more inclusive and resilient economic recovery.