Economic Opportunities and Finance

(a) Industry

Stats SA does not measure unemployment per industry.

(b) Age

Western Cape number of unemployed by Age 2020Q1-2021Q3
Age category	2020Q1	2021Q3	2020Q1-2021Q3
Age 15-19	40,210	35,973	-4,237
Age 20-24	137,753	151,050	13,297
Age 25-29	122,090	149,108	27,018
Age 30-34	105,151	125,433	20,282
Age 35-39	79,235	114,000	34,765
Age 40-44	66,143	82,989	16,846
Age 45-49	60,236	72,335	12,099
Age 50-54	30,602	46,358	15,756
Age 55-59	15,878	15,779	-99
Age 60-64	5,090	1,070	-4,020
Total	662,388	794,096	131,707

Source: Stats SA, QLFS 2021Q3, via Quantec

(c) Race

Western Cape number of unemployed by Race 2020Q1-2021Q3
Race category	2020Q1	2021Q3	2020Q1-2021Q3
African/Black	356,291	353,961	-2,330
Coloured	261,211	372,371	111,160
Indian/Asian	10,689	13,655	2,967
White	34,197	54,108	19,911
Total	662,388	794,096	131,707

Source: Stats SA, QLFS 2021Q3, via Quantec

(d) Gender

Western Cape number of unemployed by Gender 2020Q1-2021Q3
Gender	2020Q1	2021Q3	2020Q1-2021Q3
Male	344,045	435,520	91,475
Female	318,343	358,575	40,232
Total	662,388	794,096	131,707

Source: Stats SA, QLFS 2021Q3, via Quantec

(e) Municipality

• Stats SA has indicated that this data will be updated on the completion of the census 2022 process.  

  (f) Ward

•  Stats SA has indicated that this data will be updated on the completion of the census 2022 process.

2a) To mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and to improve the Western Cape’s economic situation and to create jobs, numerous initiatives have been launched by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT) and the Western Cape Government (WCG), including:

The WCG Recovery Plan, released in March 2021, seeks to address the impact of Covid-19 by creating an enabling environment for job creation, primarily through supporting the private sector and markets, thereby improving wellbeing and safety. The plan focuses on the following areas:

• Accelerate the ease of doing business by addressing:
  • Address the binding and systemic constraints in the economy – finding and implementing systematic solutions for economic challenges and binding constraints that stop business from growing and creating jobs.
  • Reducing red tape of government and its agencies by providing Red Tape Reduction support to municipalities, improving efficiencies of government procedures and administrative systems and providing clear policy direction and legislative reform.
  • Management of national Covid-19 regulations to open up economic activity and economic recovery.
  • One of the key projects of the work done in this space is to support the improvement of efficiencies at the Cape Town Port

• Boost private sector investments and promote and support exports by:
  • Enhancing international and national positioning of the Western Cape region.
  • Promoting trade in key destination markets (i.e., rest of Africa).
  • Supporting growth opportunities in key growth sectors.
  • This work is done through collaboration between DEDAT, Wesgro, ASEZ, SBIDZ with relevant international, national and local governments and business stakeholders.
  • DEDAT with Wesgro has embarked on a Western Cape Export Strategy comprising the trade complexity study. The export strategy aims to guide export promotion planning and the identification of export growth diversification opportunities for the Western Cape .

• Boost infrastructure – Stimulate the economy by boosting infrastructure investment and job creation in the public sector by:
  • Identifying and guiding the planning and execution of major public infrastructure interventions.
  • Mobilising and directing new infrastructure investments (including private sector investment).
  • Supporting municipal infrastructure implementation and spending, particularly on labour intensive projects.

• Scale-up work opportunities and skills for people without jobs –
  • Boost employment for people without work through accelerating skills supply and work placement initiatives by:
  • Increasing internships and skills programmes.
  • Improving access to skills opportunities and workplace opportunities.

• Enable energy and water resilience – Improving energy and water security through:
  • Diversifying the regional energy mix and reducing energy intensity by promoting the natural gas sector and promoting and enabling solar PV installations and energy efficiency by businesses and households.
  • Initiatives that support the green economy.
  • Climate change resilience, water resilience and waste management.

The Growth Diagnostic study commissioned by DEDAT in December 2021 seeks to identify opportunities and address constraints to economic growth in both the near term (2023/24/25) and the longer-term (by 2030), laying the foundations for a stronger economic strategic approach.

The above-mentioned initiatives will ultimately support businesses in the Western Cape and lead to direct and induced job creation in the Western Cape.

b) Significant economic recovery is expected, as answered in question c below.

c) Western Cape Government programmes aim to create and estimated 88 000 work opportunities in 2022 against the current outlook. Targets for 2023 will only be set once the 2023 budget is finalised.

 d) The nature of jobs opportunities will be unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled opportunities.