The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned by the Free State’s unemployment rate of 37,8%, the second-highest in South Africa after the Eastern Cape. This is according to the Q1: 2026 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released today by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA).
While the ANC government in the Free State continues to make promises of reform aimed at addressing economic decline and unemployment, very little of this is reflected in the lived realities of residents on the ground. The latest statistics reveal that at least 11 000 more people joined the unemployment line in the first quarter of this year alone.
At a time when the cost of living continues to rise sharply, coupled with increasing fuel price increases over the past two months, the burden will be felt most severely by the unemployed. As the country’s central province, the Free State should be an economic hub with a thriving economy and abundant job opportunities.
Instead, the provincial government continues to neglect critical economic assets such as roads, bulk services infrastructure, and recreational facilities, including game reserves and museums, all of which have the potential to attract investment, stimulate tourism, and create sustainable employment opportunities. The sharp decline in the construction sector, which recorded approximately 18,000 job losses, is further evidence that the government is failing to invest meaningfully in infrastructure development.
To fix our province, we must begin by fixing our municipalities. While support for the ANC continues to decline, residents of the Free State cannot allow the party to drag the province further into collapse with it. On 4 November, voters have an opportunity to elect DA-led local governments that will work to fix the province one municipality at a time, not only through promises, but through visible improvements in the quality of people’s everyday lives.