Seasonal slowdown hits SA’s construction industry but y/y growth driven by informal segment

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14-05-2025
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SA’s construction industry has shed 119 000 jobs since the end of Q4 2024 in both the formal and informal sectors, with the formal workforce declining by 0.4% to 762 000 while the informal segment contracted by 7.7% to 478 000 according to Industry Insight’s Construction Labour Force report for Q1 2025.

Despite the quarterly drop, the overall construction labour force is 2% higher than Q1 2024, driven mainly by growth in informal employment. Several provinces saw higher unemployment rates including the Eastern Cape (39.3%), Northern Cape (29.5%), KwaZulu-Natal (32.3%), and Limpopo (33.3%) – all of which also recorded declines in construction employment.

The Western Cape maintained the lowest unemployment rate in SA’s construction sector at 19.6% while the North West had the highest at +40%.

The largest contributions to the overall job losses in construction came from Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, which each lost approximately 40 000 jobs, followed by the Eastern Cape with a decline of 15 000 jobs. Gauteng, which still holds the largest construction labour force in the country, lost 6 000 jobs in Q1 2025 (an 1.8% decrease), bringing the total to 334 000. However, this remains 15% (43 000 jobs) higher than a year ago.

In the Western Cape, there was little change in the construction workforce since the end of 2024. Employment in the sector is now around 3% (7 000 jobs) higher year-on-year, with 245 000 people employed across both the formal and informal markets.

When compared to Q1 2024, Gauteng recorded the strongest growth in construction employment, followed by the Free State and North West. Conversely, KwaZulu-Natal experienced the steepest decline, followed by Mpumalanga.