Concern over South Africa's first quarter jobs bloodbath

JOHANNESBURG - Close to 300,000 South Africans lost jobs between January and March this year.  

This is the highest number of job losses recorded over any quarter in four years.  

On Tuesday, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released its quarterly labour force survey, revealing an employment decrease of 291,000 in the first quarter of 2025.  

The country's latest unemployment figures have been met with concern by economists and trade unions, who've cast the blame squarely on the government's failures to prioritise its citizens.  

"These figures expose the complete failure of the government’s macroeconomic policies, which continue to serve the interests of big business and the wealthy elite, while abandoning the working class and the poor," said South African Federation of Trade Unions spokesperson Newton Masuku.

READ: Unemployment increased to 32.9% in Q1 - Stats SA

Economist Dawie Roodt says he suspects a negative GDP outlook for the first quarter following the latest unemployment figures. 

"Of course, there are many reasons for that. The on-off budget. The instability in the Government of National Unity. The (Donald) Trump stuff, tariffs on and off. These all added to uncertainty, and in uncertain circumstances, people don't want to do business." 

The trade and construction sectors saw major decreases in employment, while transport and finance recorded the largest employment gains.