Western Cape Minister of Finance Deidré Baartman presented an encouraging economic picture this week as she tabled the 2025 Provincial Economic Review and Outlook (PERO) in the Provincial Parliament, showcasing the province’s ability to buck national trends and deliver tangible results for residents.
While South Africa has struggled with sluggish economic growth averaging just 0.7% annually over the past decade, the Western Cape has emerged as a beacon of economic resilience. The province’s performance on employment has been particularly striking: it created an extraordinary 89% of all net jobs in South Africa between the first quarters of 2020 and 2025.
The province’s unemployment rate fell to 21.2% in the second quarter of 2025, the lowest in the country. This achievement stands in clear contrast to national employment challenges and reflects targeted interventions by the provincial government.
Perhaps most significantly, the Western Cape has reversed troubling national trends in youth and women’s employment. Youth employment in the province grew by 13.3% while the national figure declined by 3.8%. This divergence proves the province’s success in creating opportunities for young people at a time when they face mounting challenges elsewhere in the country.
Employment for women grew by an impressive 16.7%, nearly seven times the national rate of 2.5%.
The Western Cape contributed 14.2% to national GDP in 2024, with growth projected at 0.8% in 2025 and 1.3% in 2026. While these figures remain modest, they represent steady progress toward the provincial government’s ambitious goal of creating a R1 trillion economy and 600 000 new jobs by 2035.
Addressing one of South Africa’s most critical constraints, the province added 819 MW of new energy capacity in 2024, with another 1 000 MW currently under development. This investment in energy infrastructure positions the Western Cape to overcome load shedding challenges that have hampered economic activity nationwide.
With population growth of 18% over the past decade, the Western Cape Government has faced mounting pressure to expand services. The province has responded with tangible infrastructure investments, building 17 new schools in just two years through the Rapid School Build programme and delivering 145 000 housing opportunities over the past decade, including subsidies.
Healthcare innovation has also been a priority, with expanded home-based care reducing reliance on facility-based healthcare by 15.5% over 10 years. This shift has allowed the province to extend its reach while managing the strain on hospitals and clinics.
The deployment of more than 700 Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers to crime hotspots has contributed to measurable improvements in safety. Compared to the rest of the Western Cape, areas with LEAP deployments have seen a 3.8 percentage point drop in murders, a 3.5 percentage point drop in residential robberies, and a 1.6 percentage point drop in sexual offences.
“The Western Cape is changing with growth, both in our economy and our population,” Baartman said in her address. “While challenges remain, our interventions are working. The path ahead requires momentum, scaling what works, ensuring value for money, and measuring impact. And this impact must mean more jobs, safer communities, and stronger social services for all our residents.”
Her emphasis on measurement and accountability reflects a results-oriented approach to governance, with clear metrics guiding policy decisions and resource allocation.
The 2025 PERO paints a picture of a province that, while facing significant challenges, has demonstrated an ability to implement effective policies that deliver measurable results.
The full 2025 Western Cape Provincial Economic Review and Outlook is available at: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/sites/default/files/2025-09/wc-pero-2025-for-web.pdf
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