South Africa’s unemployment rate increased to 25.5% in the third quarter of 2015, up from 25% in the second quarter, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).

The figures were released on the same day the country’s Department of Labour said employment remained South Africa’s “most pressing social challenge”.

In Q3, the country had a working age population (people aged 15-64 years) of 36.1 million.

According to Stats SA, employment gains in Q3 were largely seen in the trade (at 81k jobs) and construction (59k jobs) sectors.

Concerning recruitment and job seeking, Stats SA says enquiring at workplaces was the most common method of finding work.