Unemployment under Cyril Ramaphosa increased from 26.9% to 31.4%

South Africa’s latest unemployment rate showed that it had deteriorated significantly since President Cyril Ramaphosa took over from his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.

On Tuesday, 17 February 2026, Statistics South Africa released the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) results for the fourth quarter of 2025.

It showed that South Africa’s unemployment rate has dropped from 31.9% in Q3 2025 to 31.4% in Q4 2025. This is a 0.5 percentage point decline.

The combined unemployment rate, which is similar to the previous expanded unemployment rate, sat at 42.1%.

The combined rate reflects the number of unemployed persons, as well as those who are available to work but are discouraged or not seeking employment.

Stats SA noted that this is a different metric from the previous expanded unemployment rate, but it tracks very closely to that rate and will be used going forward.

Nolan Wapenaar, the Co-Chief Investment Officer at Anchor Capital, said the modest decline in unemployment is incremental rather than transformative.

He said the latest unemployment data confirmed that employment momentum has stabilised after a weak start to 2025.

“Broad-based participation suggests the recovery is not confined to a single industry, improving the quality of the improvement,” he said.

However, despite the slight improvement, unemployment remains very high, and South Africa’s structural challenges and constraints remain.

Joblessness disproportionately impacts vulnerable groups, especially the youth and long-term unemployed.

There are positives, including that the higher employment rate aligns with the more constructive tone adopted by the South African Reserve Bank.

The Reserve Bank has revised its GDP growth forecast upward with a gradual improvement toward 2% over the medium term.

“Employment gains have supported this trajectory, though investment remains a key lagging component, albeit improving,” he said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s performance

The latest decrease in unemployment has been received positively by many stakeholders. However, it belies what has happened over the last few years.

When Cyril Ramaphosa took over as President of South Africa from Jacob Zuma on 15 February 2018, the unemployment rate was 26.9%.

At the time, it was seen as one of South Africa’s biggest challenges, and something which the Ramaphosa administration promised to address.

In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 16 February 2018, Ramaphosa placed unemployment at the center of his national agenda.

He announced the convening of a Jobs Summit within months to align government, business, and labor efforts.

He also emphasized that the state could not solve the crisis alone and needed a social compact with the private sector.

Over the next eight years, Ramaphosa shared the same message again and again. However, nothing came of his lofty promises.

He ignored calls from the private sector to do away with destructive policies like black economic empowerment (BEE) and affirmative action.

Ramaphosa and his ruling party drove away investment through new policies like Expropriation without Compensation and National Health Insurance (NHI).

The results were predictable. Investment declined, businesses stopped growing, and unemployment increased.

Despite the irrefutable proof that the ANC’s policies are harming the economy and employment, Ramaphosa is doubling down.

He and his team are fighting to accelerate National Health Insurance, take property without payment, implement Employment Equity, and advance B-BBEE.

They are also pushing other anti-business policies, including rigid labor laws, minimum wage, and the nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank.

Many economists have warned that these are all recipes for disaster, which would further drive up unemployment.

Unemployment under President Cyril Ramaphosa

The chart below shows the unemployment rate since Cyril Ramaphosa took over as South Africa’s President.