Eastern Cape sheds a further 43,000 jobs

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The Eastern Cape’s unemployment crisis has deepened sharply, with the province recording the highest jobless rate in the country as thousands more people lost work amid mounting pressure from rising food and fuel prices.

According to Stats SA’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, the province’s official unemployment rate rose to 44.6% in the first quarter of the year from 42.5% in the previous quarter.

The figures mean nearly one in every two economically active people in the Eastern Cape is unemployed.

The province lost 43,000 jobs between October and December 2025 and the first three months of this year, reducing the number of employed people to about 1.33-million.

The broader picture is even bleaker when discouraged work-seekers are included.

Stats SA’s expanded unemployment measure, which includes people who have given up looking for work, rose from 49% a year ago to 54.4% in the first quarter — the highest year-on-year increase in SA.

The province’s labour absorption rate, which measures how many working-age adults are employed, stood at just 28.7%.

For many residents, the statistics reflect a daily struggle to survive.

Nandipha, 30, who hails from Centane, said she had spent the past three years searching unsuccessfully for work.

She moved to KuGompo City earlier this year, hoping better opportunities in the city would improve her chances, but she remains unemployed.

“I have been unemployed for three years, and it has been a struggle for me,” she said.

“I want a job for money, but also to feel less stressed. Not having a job has been emotionally taxing.”

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers said worsening unemployment was becoming increasingly visible during its relief interventions across the province.

Founder Imtiaz Sooliman said hunger was often the first sign of joblessness and deepening poverty.

“When we assist during disasters, the first thing people ask for is food,” Sooliman said.

“And when you see the people getting food, especially the children, you realise that it’s endemic and their hunger has been there for a long time.

“There are children going for days without food, and their parents are making an even bigger sacrifice.”

He said unemployment had devastating social and emotional consequences.

“Joblessness strips you of dignity. It destroys your soul and your spirit.”

Sooliman said the organisation had significantly increased food deliveries and support for soup kitchens in affected communities.

“Many children go to school without shoes and food because their parents have no means.”

He said unemployment was also affecting access to healthcare, with many people unable to afford transport to clinics, adding that anger and frustration caused by unemployment also led to an increase in domestic violence.

Story audio is generated using AI The South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) says it will strongly oppose Pick n Pay’s proposed restructuring process, which could affect about 22,000 employees. In a statement on Monday, the union accused the retailer of threatening workers with retrenchments or forcing them to accept reduced working conditions aimed at cutting labour costs in the company’s non-management bargaining unit. According to Saccawu, workers recently received Section 189A notices through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), initiating a large-scale retrenchment consultation process. The union said employees were effectively being presented with “two undesirable choices”: accepting possible retrenchments or agreeing to changes in employment conditions, including the cancellation of existing collective agreements. Saccawu accused the company of acting in bad faith by referring the matter to the CCMA before formally tabling proposals with the union through established internal negotiating structures. Among the proposed changes highlighted by the union are a reduction in monthly working hours from 196 to 176 hours, which Saccawu claims could reduce workers’ salaries by about R2,000 a month. The union said the company also intends to remove transport arrangements for employees working late-night shifts, withdraw the 13th cheque for bargaining unit employees and end additional Sunday pay by treating Sundays as normal working days. Other proposed changes include removing negotiated benefits for part-time employees and scrapping an existing flexibility and multi-skilling agreement. Saccawu argued that workers were being unfairly blamed for the retailer’s financial difficulties while executives and management structures were protected. “Workers cannot continue to bear the burden of corporate restructuring and business challenges, while executives and shareholders are protected,” the union said. The union further claimed Pick n Pay’s previous leadership decisions contributed to the retailer’s decline and said workers had remained loyal despite difficult working conditions. Saccawu warned that the proposed restructuring would deepen poverty, unemployment and inequality among workers and their families. The union called on the department of employment and labour to urgently intervene to safeguard jobs, ensure compliance with labour laws and protect collective bargaining agreements. Saccawu said it was prepared to use “all organisational and legal mechanisms” to defend workers and warned that industrial action could follow if consultations fail to produce an acceptable outcome. TimesLIVE

Reacting to the statistics, Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane said in a statement that he believed several factors continued to drive the unemployment crisis in the province.

“These include slow national economic growth, persistent energy and logistics constraints, weak consumer demand and broader global economic uncertainty affecting investment and production.”

He warned that persistently high unemployment levels continued to pose serious social risks to communities.

“Rising unemployment and poverty contribute directly to deepening inequality, household instability, crime, substance abuse, mental distress among young people, gender-based violence and growing social frustration.

“Of particular concern is the increasing number of discouraged work-seekers and young people not in employment, education or training.”

Mabuyane said the latest figures reinforced the urgency of accelerating economic reforms and strengthening inclusive growth initiatives.

“Government remains focused on improving infrastructure delivery, expanding industrialisation, supporting small businesses, growing township and rural economies, and unlocking greater private-sector investment,” he said.

On Tuesday Stats SA releases the results of its latest quarterly labour force survey (QLFS), with economists expecting the unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2026 to have risen slightly. The anticipated deterioration follows the easing in the jobless rate to 31.4% in Q4 of last year — the lowest reading since late 2020 — from 31.9% in Q3. Investec economist Lara Hodes predicts 31.7% for Q1, and worse still in Q2 amid uncertainty around the global impact of the Middle East war, saying the resultant downturn in the SA economy “is likely to have deterred the hiring of new employees”. Economists at Nedbank shared a similar view, saying the fallout from the war pitting the US and Israel against Iran would add to the pressure stemming from last year’s punitive trade tariffs slapped by President Donald Trump’s administration on several countries including South Africa. The heightened uncertainty likely weighed on business confidence, their note said, adding the “environment appears to have encouraged firms to adopt a cautious, wait-and-see stance, delaying significant capital expenditure decisions, including hiring”. The labour force usually expands in the first quarter on the back of new tertiary graduates and school leavers, as well as previously discouraged workers seeking to re-enter the job market with renewed optimism. Tuesday also sees Stats SA publishing manufacturing output data for March, which likely shows the sector taking strain from the Middle East war as well, driven mainly by global oil price hikes. Most analysts predict another annual decline after four consecutive months of contraction, including a 2.8% drop in February. Last Wednesday businesses had to contend with a second straight month of record-high fuel increases due to the war, with the cost of petrol soaring R3.27, or 14%, to R26.63 per litre in Gauteng, and diesel surging R5.27, or 20%, to R31.18. This was despite the state extending its R3 general fuel levy reduction for petrol and pausing a R3.93 tax on diesel for another month. “Given that diesel is the workhorse of the economy, these dramatic increases will raise transport costs for all businesses significantly,” Nedbank said. The mining sector has fared better than manufacturing in recent months, but the March print due on Thursday is unlikely to match February’s strong 9.7% year-on-year growth, which was driven largely by base effects. - Business Day

Black Business Forum president Luthando Bara said young people were bearing the brunt of the crisis.

“Every year, thousands of graduates leave universities and colleges with the hope of changing conditions at home … That hope is slowly becoming meaningless,” Bara said.

He warned that the province’s failure to adequately support small businesses was worsening the unemployment crisis.

“There has been little meaningful engagement with the SMME sector, despite clear evidence that small business and the services industry remain the biggest hope for job creation,” he said.

Nafcoc Eastern Cape chair Chwayita Zituta described the job losses as worrying.

“It’s a painful situation really because this is one of the [provinces with the] highest [poverty levels].

“For us to lose about 43,000 jobs, it’s a serious concern.”

She said business leaders were encouraging young people to become job creators instead of job-seekers.

“We need to sit around the table and come with strategies that can help improve job creation,” she said.

DA leader in the Eastern Cape legislature Vicky Knoetze described the crisis as catastrophic.

“It means empty cupboards, unpaid bills, young people trapped at home without opportunity and communities where work has become the exception rather than the norm.”

South Africa’s education system is failing to connect young people to real opportunities, higher education minister Buti Manamela warned at the National Education Summit, painting a picture of millions of young people stuck with no clear future. Speaking to policymakers, educators and pupils on Monday, Manamela grounded his message in a stark reality. “I want to begin with a number, which is a very unsettling number: 3.4 million young South Africans are not in employment, education or training,” he said. “That’s not a statistic from a report, but it is the lived reality of many young people in our country.” Behind that number, he said, are real lives, young people who have finished school but see no way forward, graduates with qualifications but no opportunities, and young women in rural areas who remain excluded despite their potential. For Manamela, the problem is bigger than unemployment. “What that number tells us clearly … is this: a crisis is not necessarily only unemployment, but it is also a crisis of pathways,” he said. The system is not guiding young people from learning into work. It is not helping them turn their ambitions into a real livelihood. He described education as a “bridge” to opportunity, but warned that the bridge was not working as it should. “Education is not merely a sector. It is the bridge between that waiting and economic citizenship,” he said. “The question before us is simple: Are we strengthening the bridge?” Manamela said the education system should work like a pipeline, starting from early childhood and ending in employment. But right now, that pipeline is leaking at key points, he said. The first problem starts early in a child’s life. While the government has increased funding for early childhood development, many children are still falling behind before they even start school. “The Thrive by Five index tells us that only 42% of South African children are developmentally on track by age five,” he said. “This means inequality is not simply reproduced later in life. It is reproduced early.” Prof Mashupye Herbert Maserumule, executive dean in the faculty of humanities at the Tshwane University of Technology, made a similar point at the summit, stressing that a child’s future is shaped from the very beginning. “A transformative livelihood does not just happen. It starts from the cuddle,” he said. He described early childhood as the stage where “the blueprint is drawn”, warning that many children never get the strong start they need. Citing data from Unicef, Maserumule said access continues to be a major issue. “About two out of every three children who should be in ECD programmes cannot get into them,” he said. “Even if children go to early learning centres, the education they get is often of poor quality. We need to fix that,” said Maserumule. As children move through the system, the challenges continue. Job creation Manamela also noted there are not enough job openings to absorb young people in the formal sector. “So we must build a system that has not only prepared job seekers, but produces job creators.” He pointed to growing efforts in TVET colleges, where thousands of students are now being introduced to entrepreneurship. But he stressed that young people also need real support, access to funding, markets and mentorship to succeed. Without this, he warned, entrepreneurship will remain out of reach for many. Vocational training The final gap lies in vocational training, where demand is high but opportunities are limited. “Our economy requires … 30,000 artisans every year. We’re currently producing about 20,000,” said Manamela. “This gap is not just a statistic. It is a constraint on growth.” He said many young people are eager to gain skills, but colleges lack space, resources and strong links to industry. “If they don’t get that exposure … we will not complete our dual training system,” he said. Both Manamela and Maserumule agreed that the country does not lack ideas but struggles to put them into action. “Our challenge is not lack of programmes but fragmentation,” said Manamela. Different parts of the system are not working together, and this is leaving young people stuck in the middle. “Every young person in South Africa must have a pathway. They must know where they should go,” he said. With the country more than three decades into democracy, Manamela said the real test is whether education can deliver dignity through opportunity. “What does freedom mean for the young person who has no pathway?” TimesLIVE

Freedom Front Plus Buffalo City councillor Debbie Theron said failing infrastructure and poor governance had damaged investor confidence in the province.

“Businesses are struggling with unreliable electricity, deteriorating roads, water disruptions, crime, bureaucracy and weak municipal management.

“Investors cannot create jobs in an environment where basic services are constantly failing,” Theron said.

She also highlighted the need for improved vocational training and skills development for young people.

ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said the unemployment figures reflected a growing national emergency.

“Behind these numbers are individuals whose lives are being decimated and hopes and dreams destroyed,” he said.

Street hawkers in Mthatha say a municipal bylaw prohibiting trading in parts of the town has slashed their daily income from hundreds of rand to as little as R30, leaving many struggling to survive. The King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipality says the restrictions, which have been in force since 2025, are in line with its informal trading regulations. Nosipho Makiwane, a 54-year-old mother of four, used to earn between R300 and R400 a day selling clothes in York Road, one of the city’s busiest trading areas. “On good days, I could make up to R700,” she said. Today, she is lucky to take home R30. Makiwane is among dozens of informal traders who were removed from York Road and General Sabelo Gqwetha Street about a year ago. She has since relocated to Owen Street, where she now sells fruit and sweets — but says the move has crippled her income. “Things are very bad. We have to brave the rain and extreme heat now. At least my previous spot had shelter,” she said. “There are very few customers here. If I make R50 a day, that is a bonus.” Makiwane said she was now struggling to support her four children, all of whom are still in school. “I am forced to make arrangements with their schools. “I cannot even go to loan sharks because I won’t be able to pay them back. “Now I rely on my siblings for help. We are really suffering.” She has stopped paying her policies and contributions to her stokvel. I can no longer provide enough food or send them to school properly Fellow hawker Nobandla Hoyi, who traded in York Road for more than a decade, said she was now in debt. “I owe loan sharks nearly R2,000. I have two children, one in grade 4 and another in grade 11. “I can no longer provide enough food or send them to school properly,” she said. “What we want is to go back to where we were selling because there is no business where we are now.” KSD municipal spokesperson Sonwabo Mampoza reiterated that trading in York Road and the General Sabelo Gqwetha Street was prohibited by the informal trade bylaw. “There is a plan to relocate all informal traders, including containers, to Owen Street. “An application for trading stalls [to be erected] has been submitted to the department of small business development, and we are awaiting a response,” Mampoza said. He said the municipality was no longer issuing trading permits to foreign nationals, warning that the “sub-letting” of permits was illegal. Former KSD councillor and community activist Pasika Nontshiza said the bylaw failed to take into account the socioeconomic realities faced by informal traders. “It was not crafted with the wellbeing of hawkers in mind. It does not consider unemployment, poverty or inflation.” He accused the municipality of failing to consult the affected traders before implementing the decision. “KSD has a constitutional obligation to consult people before taking decisions that affect them. They knew this decision would be rejected,” he said. Eastern Cape Chamber of Business president Vuyisile Ntlabati said the municipality had a responsibility to ensure traders were not left without viable alternatives. “If removing these hawkers means they now struggle to earn a livelihood, then it is not right,” he said. “Those people are fighting to feed their families. They cannot be treated as if they are criminals.” He said informal trading had long been a stepping stone to formal business. “Many people started as hawkers and went on to run successful spaza shops. “The municipality should have ensured they could continue to make a proper living before removing them,” he said. Click here to join the Daily Dispatch’s WhatsApp channel and get the latest news delivered straight to your phone Daily Dispatch

EFF Eastern Cape secretary Simthembile Madikizela said the province continued to experience a decline on many fronts.

“On several occasions, the EFF has expressed no confidence in the current leadership of the provincial government because of its failure to respond effectively to the growing economic crisis,” he said.

Madikizela said practical economic intervention and an industrial development plan were lacking in the province, while manufacturers were struggling to survive.

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