EThekwini municipality records largest unemployment decline among South African metros

The eThekwini municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, recorded the largest annual drop in unemployment among the country's metropolitan areas.

Statistics South Africa released the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the third quarter of 2026, showing that eThekwini was the only metro to see a decrease in unemployment compared to the same period in 2025. The official unemployment rate in the municipality fell from 27.8% to 22.2% over the year.

This decline of 5.6 percentage points places eThekwini alongside the City of Cape Town as having the lowest unemployment rates in the country, both of which sit well below the national unemployment rate of 33.7%. The number of unemployed residents in the area dropped by 101,000, while the number of employed residents grew by 66,000 to reach approximately 1.27 million. This represents the largest employment increase for any metropolitan municipality in the country.

Formal sector employment in the region also grew by 146,000 people, an increase of 18.2%. City Manager and Accounting Officer Musa Mbhele stated that these figures show more residents are engaged in productive work. He noted that the administration intends to sustain this growth by focusing on infrastructure for water and electricity, maintaining public amenities, and streamlining regulations to encourage investment in Durban.