Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the Western Cape capital has added 418 000 jobs over the current local government term, which he says is more than the next four largest metros – Johannesburg, eThekwini, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni – combined.

He says Cape Town also has the lowest broad unemployment rate ­– 11 percentage points lower than the next metro, at 24.3% – with this indicator including both the unemployed and those not actively job-searching.

Hill-Lewis’ comments follow the release of Statistics South Africa’s (StatsSA’s) most recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) data.

Cape Town now accounts for nearly 50% of all jobs added across the eight metros over the current term of local office, encompassing StatsSA’s QLFS Q1 2022 to Q2 2026, at 418 000 jobs out of a total of 841 000 jobs.

Compared with the Gauteng metros, Cape Town added 6.4 jobs for every one job added in Joburg, and more than four jobs for every one job added in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.

“This is no accident,” says Hill-Lewis.  “This is what happens when you have a working city that focuses on better services for all and invests in infrastructure at record levels.

“Cape Town remains South Africa’s most successful, functional city where people are most likely to find a job and opportunities for a better life.”

“Ultimately, it’s about making it easier to do business, improving productivity and creating more opportunities for people to work,” adds City of Cape Town Economic Growth MMC James Vos.

“Seeing unemployment fall by around 5.5 percentage points during this term shows this practical approach is making a difference.”

A total of 130 000 construction-related jobs are estimated to have flowed from Cape Town’s R40-billion infrastructure investments during this term of office, aside from the broader economic benefits of improved infrastructure.

Cape Town notched up R12.2-billion in capital expenditure in 2025/26, double the R6-billion invested in the first year of the term.