Labour Force Survey: DA-run Western Cape tops the jobs chart

05 May 2014

The latest jobs numbers from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) show that the DA-run Western Cape has created by far the most jobs in the past year. 146 000 jobs have been created in the Western Cape - more than double the number created in Gauteng (see here - PDF). .

These figures expose, as pre-election desperation, the recent attempts by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel to dispute the Western Cape's stellar performance on job creation.

Today's numbers also further erode President Zuma's record on jobs: since he assumed office 1,8 million people have joined the ranks of the unemployed.  There are now more than 8,1 million South Africans who cannot find work or have given up looking. 

Zuma's government promised to create 500 000 jobs per year, but they only managed to create 439 000 over their entire five-year term in office. 

The Western Cape, meanwhile, has led the way on job creation - delivering 124 000 jobs, or 28% of the national total, over the past five years.

The DA has run our election campaign on a jobs message because there is nothing more pressing in South Africa than our unemployment crisis. Today's release shows how unemployment has worsened under Zuma's ANC, but also highlights how a well-run provincial government, like the Western Cape, can deliver thousands of jobs by extending opportunity to those who are left out.

On Wednesday voters across South Africa will get a chance to vote for jobs by voting DA. 

Statement issued by Tim Harris, DA Shadow Minister of Finance, May 5 2014

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