The Eastern Cape remains the province hardest hit by unemployment and economic stagnation, according to the release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2025 by Statistics South Africa this morning.
While South Africa’s national unemployment rate declined to 31.9%, the Eastern Cape’s rose to 41.2%, cementing its position as the province with the highest unemployment rate in the country. It was also the only province to record net job losses, shedding 53,000 jobs at a time when national employment grew by 248,000.
While the Premier has lived in denial, the figures speak volumes. The Eastern Cape is not recovering; it is regressing.
Families across the province are slipping further into poverty as breadwinners lose work. Each retrenchment represents a household without income and a community under pressure. The loss of 53,000 jobs in one quarter, in a province already carrying the country’s worst unemployment burden, is a social and economic emergency.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes these figures confirm what we have warned about, namely that economic stagnation, poor governance, and now the impact of global shocks such as US tariff increases are driving the province deeper into crisis.
The timing of the US tariffs on automotive and other goods coincides precisely with the period under review, confirming the effect of reduced shifts, plant closures, and a collapse in export volumes on employment. The statistics show that 28,000 jobs were lost in the province’s manufacturing sector over the period.
In addition, the lingering effects of the June 2025 floods, continued infrastructure failures, and municipal under-expenditure have compounded the province’s vulnerability. These factors translate directly into lost livelihoods and deepening structural poverty.
The Eastern Cape’s expanded-equivalent unemployment rate (LU3) now stands at 50.2%, meaning that half of all working-age people are either unemployed, discouraged, or available for work but not actively seeking employment.
This reflects both the scale of economic exclusion and the collapse of confidence in government to deliver opportunity.
Every project launched, every budget allocated, and every appointment made must answer one simple question: Will this reduce unemployment, poverty, or inequality? Until that becomes the test of governance, the province will remain trapped in structural decline.
The people of the Eastern Cape deserve leadership that delivers, and a future built on dignity, opportunity, and honest government.