Economy · Chart
The Western Cape took 360,347 of South Africa's 404,712 net new jobs in five years
360,347net new jobs Western Cape · Highest
Nine in every ten of the country’s extra jobs were in one province, which has about an eighth of the population.
From our storiesHow well has he Democratic Alliance ruled Cape Town? Here is what the data showsRead the full story →
Method and sources
Each bar is the net change in employment over the five years to early 2026, as reported in the article.
Western Cape 360,347. Other eight provinces combined 44,365. The article gives the national total as 404,712 net new jobs, which is the sum of the two bars and so is not plotted separately.
The article gives the span as five years to early 2026 without exact dates, so the period is approximated as 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2026.
Sources: Statistics South Africa Quarterly Labour Force Survey, cited in the 2026 Western Cape State of the Province Address (https://www.statssa.gov.za/)
Figures as published in our article on the DA's record in Cape Town (chart last checked 14 September 2026): Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey figures, cited in the 2026 Western Cape State of the Province Address.
Chart updated · 14 Sep 2026. The observation dates above describe the data, not today’s conditions.
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