Data series, Unemployment
Labour force participation rate
59.6%Q2 2026. Up from 59.0% in Q1 2026.
Series id lfpr-overall. This page and its downloads keep the same address when new figures are added.
The labour force participation rate (LFPR) is the percentage of the working-age population (15–64) that is either employed or unemployed. It rose 0.6 percentage points to 59.6% in Q2 2026, but is 0.6 points lower than a year earlier.
Source: Statistics South Africa, Quarterly Labour Force Survey Q2 2026. Source released . Checked on SA Data Hub . Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| Q1 2020 | 59.2% |
| Q2 2020 | 55.7% |
| Q3 2020 | 56.4% |
| Q4 2020 | 58.1% |
| Q1 2021 | 57.9% |
| Q2 2021 | 58.8% |
| Q3 2021 | 59.3% |
| Q4 2021 | 59.7% |
| Q1 2022 | 60.1% |
| Q2 2022 | 59.8% |
| Q3 2022 | 60.2% |
| Q4 2022 | 60.4% |
| Q1 2023 | 59.9% |
| Q2 2023 | 60.1% |
| Q3 2023 | 60.3% |
| Q4 2023 | 60.5% |
| Q1 2024 | 60.7% |
| Q2 2024 | 60.6% |
| Q3 2024 | 60.2% |
| Q4 2024 | 60.3% |
| Q1 2025 | 60.0% |
| Q2 2025 | 60.2% |
| Q3 2025 | 59.7% |
| Q4 2025 | 59.3% |
| Q1 2026 | 59.0% |
| Q2 2026 | 59.6% |
Every value
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 59.6% |
| Q1 2026 | 59.0% |
| Q4 2025 | 59.3% |
| Q3 2025 | 59.7% |
| Q2 2025 | 60.2% |
| Q1 2025 | 60.0% |
| Q4 2024 | 60.3% |
| Q3 2024 | 60.2% |
| Q2 2024 | 60.6% |
| Q1 2024 | 60.7% |
| Q4 2023 | 60.5% |
| Q3 2023 | 60.3% |
| Q2 2023 | 60.1% |
| Q1 2023 | 59.9% |
| Q4 2022 | 60.4% |
| Q3 2022 | 60.2% |
| Q2 2022 | 59.8% |
| Q1 2022 | 60.1% |
| Q4 2021 | 59.7% |
| Q3 2021 | 59.3% |
| Q2 2021 | 58.8% |
| Q1 2021 | 57.9% |
| Q4 2020 | 58.1% |
| Q3 2020 | 56.4% |
| Q2 2020 | 55.7% |
| Q1 2020 | 59.2% |
Changes to this series
No revisions by the publisher have been recorded for this series. SA Data Hub started recording them on 7 November 2026; earlier revisions are not listed.
SA Data Hub's update log for this dataset
, data update
Refreshed to QLFS Q2 2026 (overall LFPR 59.6%, female 54.9%). Historical corrections across all ten female LFPR points and Q1 2024–Q4 2025 overall LFPR points. Unverified labour-force-participation (42.7%) record removed per owner decision D1.
, data update
Labour force participation indicators verified and aligned with QLFS metadata.
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You may reuse this series under CC BY 4.0. Credit Statistics South Africa as the original source and SA Data Hub as the place you got it.
Cite this series
Statistics South Africa (2026). Quarterly Labour Force Survey Q2 2026. Series "Labour force participation rate" via SA Data Hub, https://sadatahub.tech/series/lfpr-overall (checked 2026-10-19).
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