Skip to main content
SA Data Hub

Which province has the highest unemployment rate?

Eastern Cape had the highest official unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2026, at 47.5%, according to Stats SA's Quarterly Labour Force Survey.

Official unemployment rate by province, Q2 2026, highest first
  • Eastern Cape47.5%

    Up 2.9 pts from Q1 2026

  • North West38.1%

    Up 2.8 pts from Q1 2026

  • Free State37.3%

    Down 0.5 pts from Q1 2026

  • Mpumalanga36.6%

    Up 0.3 pts from Q1 2026

  • Gauteng34.6%

    Up 0.5 pts from Q1 2026

  • KwaZulu-Natal32.5%

    Up 1.3 pts from Q1 2026

  • Limpopo32.0%

    Up 0.3 pts from Q1 2026

  • Northern Cape28.7%

    Down 1.7 pts from Q1 2026

  • Western Cape19.5%

    Down 0.1 pts from Q1 2026

Source: Stats SA, Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Quarter 2: 2026 (P0211), Table E, page 7. Source released . Checked on SA Data Hub . Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

Open: Eastern Cape, North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape, Western Cape

How this was worked out

The provincial official unemployment rates and quarterly changes in Table E of the release.

Related questions