Quarterly Economic Bulletins | Western Cape Government

Quarterly Economic Bulletins

2016
Department of Economic Development and Tourism
(Western Cape Government)

This bulletin is the only regular economic publication by the Western Cape Government that communicates its economic strategy, key strategic economic interventions and policy directives.The QEB analyses economic trends and events that affect the regional and national economy and discusses economic opportunities for the region and its firms.

Quarter 1 of 2018

This edition focuses on economic developments and the performance of the global, national and regional economies. It takes a closer look at the country and province’s economic performance in the third and fourth quarters of 2017, specifically the labour market as well as the economic outlook for these economies.

This edition also attempts to explain how technology has taken forward and presented myriad opportunities in the emerging Sharing Economy – a digitised and monetised extension of the bartering system. It details the major Sharing Economy success stories and conversely, the key characteristics associated with the failure of companies and related challenges in the sector.

Quarter 1 of 2017

According to the latest economic intelligence, the Western Cape’s Project Khulisa sectors are reporting significant jobs growth. Reporting on the third quarter – that is July to September 2016 – StatsSA's Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) showed that we've added 49 000 jobs to our economy quarter-on-quarter. Consequently, the Western Cape's broad unemployment rate of 24.8% remains the lowest in the country.

Construction jobs in the Western Cape have grown by 23.5% between Q3 2015 and Q3 2016, increasing employment in the sector from 196 000 to 242 000. We also reported on the gains in tourism as visitor arrivals increased across the province during the 2016/17 peak summer season. Foreign tourist numbers grew at 29,8% year-on-year in December 2016, and major attractions achieved growth of 19,8% between 2013 and 2016.

This edition of the Quarterly Economic Bulletin includes an analysis on tourism, which forecasts further increases in visitor arrivals and spend over the next year.

Quarter 4 of 2016

According to the latest economic intelligence, the Western Cape’s Project Khulisa sectors are reporting significant jobs growth. Reporting on the third quarter – that is July to September 2016 – StatsSA's Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) showed that we've added 49 000 jobs to our economy quarter-on-quarter. Consequently, the Western Cape's broad unemployment rate of 24.8% remains the lowest in the country.

Construction jobs in the Western Cape have grown by 23.5% between Q3 2015 and Q3 2016, increasing employment in the sector from 196 000 to 242 000. We also reported on the gains in tourism as visitor arrivals increased across the province during the 2016/17 peak summer season. Foreign tourist numbers grew at 29,8% year-on-year in December 2016, and major attractions achieved growth of 19,8% between 2013 and 2016.

This edition of the Quarterly Economic Bulletin includes an analysis on tourism, which forecasts further increases in visitor arrivals and spend over the next year.

Quarter 3 of 2016

This QEB explores the impact and potential responses to the fourth wave of industrialisation. The potential impact to employment is truly scary and will require focus at the helm if the country is to navigate the tsunami of technological innovations that threatens employment. This edition attempts to explain and simplify the complexities of energy, one of the Province’s Game Changers. In addition, it explores the growth in halaal food demand and shares the rationale of why halaal food is so integral to Project Khulisa.

Quarter 2 of 2016

This bulletin sheds light on some of the factors influencing the provincial economy, and features a broad range of topics. Some of the topics discussed are the global economic outlook, energising the Western Cape, electric cars and gap-housing. Our analysts highlight potential opportunities in the economy and we hear from investors about doing business in the province.

Second Edition: Quarter 1 of 2016

The second edition of the bulletin focuses on our currency and provides detailed outlooks for the national and provincial economies. It also shares information on the key policy decisions we’ve made to achieve the provincial government’s number one goal, that of growth and job creation. This approach, through Project Khulisa, is to place special attention on those areas of our economy with a competitive edge, and which hold opportunity to grow. In this edition, we further discuss the Project Khulisa strategy, with a particular focus on our fastest-growing sector, tourism.
 

First Edition: Quarter 4 of 2015

This first edition of the Western Cape Quarterly Economic Bulletin describes the intended outcomes and strategic thrusts of the Provincial Strategic Goal 1 - Create opportunities for jobs and growth. It focuses on the structure of the Western Cape economy and its 29 municipalities.

This edition also examines the performance of the global economy and national economies and takes a closer look at industry performances as well as the economic outlook for these economies.

Contact:
We welcome any feedback, requests or letters to the editor. Please direct them to Nezaam.Joseph@westerncape.gov.za

The content on this page was last updated on 13 April 2018