Northern Cape posts SA’s sharpest unemployment drop, says Saul

By Levy Masiteng

The Northern Cape has recorded the largest decline in unemployment among South Africa’s provinces, Premier Zamani Saul announced during his 2026 State of the Province Address (SOPA) at the Bergsig Sportsground in Springbok, Namakwa District, on Thursday.

Saul said the province’s unemployment rate fell from 31.2% to 27.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 — a 4.1 percentage-point drop he described as the highest in the country.

“As I am addressing you now, our GDP stands at R166 billion,” Saul said.

“The number of employed persons increased by 10,000 from the third quarter of 2025 to the fourth quarter of 2025.”

He added that employment rose from 319,000 in the third quarter of 2025 to 337,000 in the fourth quarter. Compared with the second quarter of 2020, when 225,000 people were employed, the province has created more than 100,000 additional jobs over five years.

“What this means