[{"Meta":"Dataset","Value":"South African unemployment rate"},{"Meta":"Sources","Value":"Statistics South Africa, Quarterly Labour Force Survey"},{"Meta":"Source_lin","Value":"https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/QLFS%20Trends%202008-2025Q2.xlsx"},{"Meta":"Last-updated","Value":"2026-02-17"},{"Meta":"Notes","Value":"On 11 November 2025, StatsSA adjusted what it defines as the expanded unemployment rate. "},{"Meta":"Description","Value":"The percentage of South Africa's working-age population that did not have work and were considered unemployed each quarter since 2008."},{"Meta":"Variable","Value":"Description"},{"Meta":"year","Value":"Calendar year"},{"Meta":"quarters","Value":"Three-month period starting with 1, which is Jan to March; 2, is Apr to Jun"},{"Meta":"date","Value":"Last day of the quarter, yyyy-mm-dd"},{"Meta":"months","Value":"Months in each quarter, eg \"Jan-Mar 2025\""},{"Meta":"population_15_64_yrs","Value":"Number of people aged 15 to 64 years, ie, the working-age population as defined by Statistics South Africa"},{"Meta":"total_labour_force","Value":"Total number of people in the labour force, which is the sum of the number of employed and unemployed."},{"Meta":"labour_force_difference_per_quarter","Value":"Quarterly change in the size of the labour force. Calculated by subtracting one quarter total labour force from the previous quarter's"},{"Meta":"percent_labourforce","Value":"Labour force participation rate: labour force as a percentage of the working-age population. "},{"Meta":"labour_force_change%","Value":"Calculated value: Percentage change in labour force from one quarter to the next. "},{"Meta":"total_employed","Value":"Total number of employed people\t"},{"Meta":"percent_employed","Value":"Calculated value: Percentage of the labour force that is employed"},{"Meta":"employed_change%","Value":"Calculated value: Percentage change in the number of employed people from one quarter to the next"},{"Meta":"total_unemployed","Value":"Total number of unemployed people\t"},{"Meta":"percent_unemployed","Value":"Unemployment as a percentage of the labour force, ie, unemployment rate"},{"Meta":"unemployed_change%","Value":"Calculated value: Percentage change in the number of unemployed people from one quarter to the next"},{"Meta":"total_not_active","Value":"Number of working-age people who are not economically active. These people are not included in the labour force. They are made up of discouraged work-seekers (see defiition below) and others, which include students, homemakers, individuals who are unwell or have disabilities, and those who are either too young or too old to work."},{"Meta":"percent_not_active","Value":"Calculated value: Percentage of the working-age population who are not economically active"},{"Meta":"not_active_change%","Value":"Calculated value: Percentage change in the number of not economically active people from one quarter to the next"},{"Meta":"total_discouraged_workseekers","Value":"Total number of discouraged work seekers. Discouraged job seekers are people who are unemployed and willing to work, but have not actively pursued employment due to factors such as a lack of job opportunities in their vicinity, inability to secure positions matching their skills, or a sense of despair about the prospect of finding any form of employment.  "},{"Meta":"percent_discouraged workseekers","Value":"Calculated value: Discouraged work-seekers as a percentage of the working-age population"},{"Meta":"discouraged_change%","Value":"Percentage change in the number of discouraged worker-seekers from one quarter to the next"},{"Meta":"women_unemployment_rate","Value":"Percentage of women in the labour force who are unemployed"},{"Meta":"men_unemployment_rate","Value":"Percentage of men in the labour force who are unemployed"},{"Meta":"15_to_24_years_expanded_unemployed","Value":"Number of unemployed individuals aged 15–24 (expanded definition). The expanded definition includes discouraged work-seekers        "},{"Meta":"15_to_24_years_expanded_unemployment_rate","Value":"Percentage of people aged 15–24 years who are unemployed according to the expanded definition      "},{"Meta":"unemployed_expanded_15to64","Value":"Number of unemployed individuals aged 15–64 (expanded definition). The expanded definition includes discouraged work-seekers       "},{"Meta":"unemployed_expanded_15to64_rate","Value":"Percentage of people aged 15–64  years (ie, the working age population) who are unemployed according to the expanded definition      "},{"Meta":"date_report_released","Value":"Date the dataset was last updated        "}]