By Yvonne Motsamai-Lobelo
MAHIKENG The North West Province has recorded the most significant year-on-year decline in official unemployment in South Africa, dropping by 6.2 percentage points according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
The province’s official unemployment rate fell from 41.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 35.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025, outperforming the national trend where the rate decreased by only 0.5 percentage points to 31.4%. This positions North West as the province with the largest annual reduction, as highlighted in the QLFS for Q4:2025.
In the final two quarters of 2025, the province cumulatively added close to 80,000 jobs, with key gains in agriculture, construction, and public services driving employment growth. Quarter-on-quarter data shows an increase of 36,000 employed persons in Q4:2025 alone, contributing to the positive momentum.
Premier Lazarus Mokgosi attributed the progress to the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy, officially adopted last year to stimulate economic recovery, infrastructure investment, and job creation.
“We officially adopted the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy last year to drive economic growth and create jobs. We are now starting to witness an upward trajectory on our job creation initiatives, which have culminated in the reduction of unemployment by over six percent,” Premier Mokgosi stated.
While celebrating the gains in the official rate, the Premier expressed concern over the more limited decline in the expanded unemployment rate (which includes discouraged work-seekers), which fell by just 1.9 percentage points to 50.9% over the same period. This broader measure remains high, reflecting ongoing challenges in fully absorbing potential labour force participants.
During recent participation in the State of the Nation Address debate, Premier Mokgosi outlined several intervention measures to tackle persistent unemployment. A flagship initiative is the resuscitation of Pilanesberg International Airport to revive commercial tourism activities in the Moses Kotane Local Municipality and surrounding areas.
“This Friday we will be signing a memorandum of understanding with the national Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to see the full implementation of our plans for the Pilanesberg Airport. I am therefore hopeful that these activities will result in more job creation opportunities for the people of North West,” he concluded.
The upcoming signing, involving Infrastructure South Africa and provincial partners, aims to provide project preparation support for redeveloping the airport following damage in 2023, with expectations of boosting tourism-related employment.
Despite the encouraging figures, experts note that North West’s unemployment remains above the national average, and rural provinces continue to face structural hurdles. The province’s expanded rate of 50.9% places it second only to the Eastern Cape (51.4%) in terms of broader labour underutilisation.
The developments underscore the province’s efforts to translate policy strategies into tangible job gains, amid a national labour market showing modest recovery. Morongwa News will monitor the impact of the airport revival and other initiatives on future employment trends in the region.
