QLFS: Employment up by 305 000 jobs and unemployment down by 4.3 percentage points year-on-year in the Western Cape

14 November 2023

According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), released by Statistics South Africa today, the work that is underway to grow the Western Cape economy and grow jobs is producing encouraging results.

The QLFS shows that, in the Western Cape, jobs are up and unemployment is down:

Employment is up by 22 000 jobs or by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter;

Employment is up by 305 000 jobs or by 12.6%, year-on-year;

The highest number of jobs created in South Africa between quarter 3 of 2022 and quarter 3 of 2023 were in the Western Cape;

Unemployment is down, on the official definition, by 0.7 percentage points quarter-on-quarter;

Unemployment is down, on the official definition, by 4.3 percentage points, year-on-year – which is the biggest decrease in South Africa; and

On the expanded definition, the unemployment rate is down by 3.9 percentage points, year-on-year.

Commenting on the release, Premier Alan Winde said, “The statistics released today show that where there is good and stable governance that creates the enabling environment there is a way to grow our economy and create more jobs for the residents of the Western Cape. And the results of the QLFS today, prove that we are on track.”

Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, said, “While we have more work to do, I am proud of the results reflected in the data released today, showing that the Western Cape not only created more jobs year-on-year than any other province, but that we also have the lowest unemployment rate, the lowest expanded unemployment rate as well as the highest absorption rate and highest labour force participation rate in South Africa.”

Premier Winde continued, “In terms of the official unemployment rate, we are at 20.2% in Q3 of 2023. This is a significant 11.7% lower than South Africa's official unemployment rate (of 31.9%) in the same quarter. This is still worryingly high, especially for younger job seekers who are a particular priority for this government, but these figures are showing that a different trajectory for this country is possible. In terms of the expanded unemployment rate, we are at 25.6%, a total of 15.6% lower than South Africa's expanded unemployment rate (41.2%) in the same quarter.”

“We know that jobs bring dignity and hope to people and their families. As government, it is our role to make it as easy as possible for the private sector to do what it does best – create jobs and grow their businesses to create many more. Today, we have seen the impact that our clear and decisive economic action plan, called ‘Growth for Jobs’ is having on our economy. Together, we can build a R1 trillion economy that is growing by between 4% and 6% by 2035 and spread more hope and prosperity across the length and breadth of this wonderful province – and our country too,” concluded Minister Wenger.

Issued by Regan Thaw, Media Liaison Officer, 14 November 2023