PRESS RELEASES
Cape Town has the lowest unemployment rate of all metros
24 August 2021
STATEMENT BY ALDERMAN JAMES VOS, MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
Despite extreme challenges, Cape Town’s economic climate has proved resilient enough for the metro to maintain its status as the city with the lowest unemployment rate on the expanded definition.
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for April to June 2021, the expanded definition unemployment rate during the quarter was 29,8% in Cape Town, far lower than the national rate of 44,4%.
However, Cape Town cannot entirely escape the country’s bad economic turn, which is why I am again urging National Government to implement structural reform measures that will set our nation on a different path.
This requires targeted sector intervention just as we have done in Cape Town via strong partnerships within our department, with our Strategic Business Partners (SBPs), and with industry leaders in and around the City.
The result is a range of plans and programmes – some of which are in full swing and some that are in the planning phase – that provide training and work placement avenues to job seekers, and support systems for SMMEs and entrepreneurs to help them grow financially.
Simultaneously, we must focus on vaccinating as many adults in the country as possible so as to reach population immunity in order to avert further lockdowns and allow businesses to get back to normal. This will mean more increased vaccination campaigns in communities where there is low uptake of the jabs.
South Africans have suffered a great deal in the last year and a half. But it is not all doom and gloom and we as government officials and industry leaders must act with haste and precision to set our country and its economy on the road to real recovery.
If you are a small business owner or job seeker in Cape Town in need of assistance, please get in touch with my team to find out about the support mechanisms available by visiting www.investcapetown.com or emailing info@wordpress-local.
