THIS CITY WORKS… - But Cape’s new record employment numbers masks weak job market

The Democratic Alliance-led City of Cape Town have welcomed the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) results, which show the province created 93 000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025 as unemployment declined to 19.8 percent.

Nationally, unemployment stood at 31.4 percent in the October to December period, down from 31.9 percent in the third quarter and 33.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025. The number of unemployed people fell to about 7.83 million, according to Statistics South Africa.

Following the release of the survey on Tuesday, the City of Cape Town said the metro added 113 000 jobs year-on-year - the highest gain among South Africa’s metros - bringing total employment to a record 1.895 million people working in the city.

The City said Cape Town’s unemployment rate declined to 19.8 percent, falling below 20 percent for the first time since 2009. The metro reported improvements across key employment indicators, including labour force participation, absorption rate and overall employment.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said: “We are elated to see employment hit record levels in Cape Town, with 470 000 jobs added over the current local government term.

“We are especially overjoyed for everyone who found a job in the last year and can now make a meaningful difference for their families. Our promise is to keep working at growing employment so that many more Capetonians can experience the dignity of work and a pathway out of poverty.”

BOSA spokesperson Roger Solomons said that, under the expanded definition of unemployment, 12.405 million South Africans are either unemployed or classified as available potential jobseekers — comprising 7.83 million officially unemployed and a further 4.56 million categorised as available potential jobseekers.

Solomons said: “The GNU can talk about growth all it wants, but the only thing growing is the unemployment line.”

He said the expanded unemployment rate stood at 42.1 percent and warned that young people remain disproportionately affected.

Offering broader economic context, Nolan Wapenaar, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Anchor Capital, warned that unemployment remains very high and that structural constraints persist.

“That said, the 4Q25 QLFS data does seem to confirm that SA’s economy is gradually stabilising.

“While the labour market remains weak, at least it is no longer deteriorating.”