Cape Town unemployment down 3,8% year-on-year, lowest of the metros

14 November 2023

Cape Town has added 205 000 new jobs over the last year, more than all other metros combined. This is according to the latest StatsSA Quarterly Labour Force survey for July – September 2023.  The metro’s unemployment rate fell by 3,8% year-on-year and remains the lowest of all eight metros based on the expanded unemployment definition, which offers the most complete estimate. 

'Cape Town's economy is showing resilience, with employment levels above pre-Covid levels for three consecutive quarters. The city added more jobs year-on-year than all other cities combined, and unemployment remains the lowest of the metros by a 6,5 percentage point margin. This was driven by positive job growth in three of four quarters over the last year.

'Cape Town is increasingly at the heart of national economic growth, with the latest census showing our city will also soon overtake Johannesburg as SA's most populous city. To enable further job-creating economic growth, we are investing a record R43 billion in infrastructure over three years, alongside advanced plans to end load-shedding over time,' said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

Alderman James Vos, the Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, said the City's investment promotion and skills development programme continues to support growth in key industries. 

'Our programmes target emerging and high-growth industries such as the green economy, call centres, tourism, clothing and textiles. This includes a strong training support system for entrepreneurs, small business owners and employees to gain critical skills. We also offer a dedicated investment facilitation service and ease-of-doing business incentives which have brought billions into the regional economy,' said Alderman Vos.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office