Limpopo job crisis deepens as unemployment rises, says DA’s Jacques Smalle

LIMPOPO – The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) results have revealed a concerning trend in Limpopo, with the province’s unemployment rate jumping by 0.6 percentage points to 35.0% in Q2,

Jacques Smalle, DA Provincial Spokesperson for Limpopo Economic Development, the Environment, and Tourism (LEDET), said the escalating figures are more concerning.

“This widening gap shows that whatever gains the national economy is making are not translating into improvements here in Limpopo. We face deep-seated economic fragility and structural roadblocks, and we need to turbocharge our economy,” he said.

Smalle highlighted that the province lost 55 000 jobs in the first quarter of 2025, and the expanded unemployment rate remained unchanged at 43.8%.

“The fact is Limpopo is slipping further into a labour market malaise,” he added.

According to Smalle, the provincial economy’s heavy dependence on agriculture, public sector employment, and informal trade makes it vulnerable to contractions in these sectors.

“A limited industrial base and a small formal private sector mean few alternative employment avenues,” he explained.

Smalle called on the provincial government to implement the DA’s Plan to Turbocharge the Economy, emphasizing the need for urgent reforms to break the structural trap.

“We must reform our governance, create functional and capacitated provincial and local government, cut wasteful expenditure, and stop bailing out failing SOEs,” he said.

Smalle also stressed the importance of ending the fixation with mega state-driven projects and instead creating conditions for private sector-driven growth.

“We must reform municipal governance, rehabilitate basic service delivery infrastructure, and fight our crime epidemic, which undermines service delivery, deters investment, and drives tourists away,” he added.

In conclusion, Smalle expressed scepticism about the ANC’s ability to address the province’s economic challenges.

 “We know, as the DA, what needs to be done to turbocharge our national and provincial economy, but we do not believe the ANC has either the will or the means to arrest our decline and the deepening misery our people face every day,” he said.