If you're looking for a job you're most likely to find it in Durban. That is according the Labour Force Survey for the second quarter of this year, released by Stats SA last week.eThekwini's official unemployment rate is 16.5%, much lower than the rates in South Africa's powerhouses, Johannesburg and Cape Town - which lag far behind at 26.2% and 22.6% respectively.The metro with the highest unemployment rate is Nelson Mandela Bay, at 33.2%.The Stats SA survey showed that the number of employed people nationally increased by 198,000, and unemployment declined by 305,000 during the quarter.The biggest increases in employment were in community and social services, construction and trade. Financial services, manufacturing and agriculture shed jobs.Loane Sharp, a labour economist for the Free Market Foundation, said that for years Durban had been the "ugly sister" of South Africa's big cities, with investors preferring to do business in Johannesburg or Cape Town."Depressed house prices [in Durban] reduced household wealth. Infrastructure bottlenecks reduced business investment. Chaotic public services led to poor business confidence and policing was atrocious, particularly in the CBD and outlying suburbs."On the whole, the broader eThekwini economy was heavily reliant on manufacturing goods and transporting them to Gauteng."But, he said, the metro's labour market fundamentals remained good."Matric performance was above average, particularly in English and mathematics, and attractive wages and benefits have helped businesses set up new operations or expand."As a result Durban was one of the best-kept secrets among South African investment destinations."But, he said, this had changed significantly."Blue-chip companies are increasingly basing their operations in Durban, and small-scale businesses are thriving."More than 80% of eThekwini's small-business owners are black, and 91% of employment is in small or medium enterprises."Durban has staged something of a comeback and is now an example for the rest of the economy to follow."eThekwini municipality said its sector development programme, facilitated by its Economic Development and Investment Promotion Unit, had contributed to job creation.James Nxumalo, eThekwini's mayor, said the council had pledged that the programme would create 23,000 jobs and bring about economic growth of between 4% and 7% a year by 2018."Achieving these development goals requires a concerted effort, investment and support from all economic sectors in eThekwini to transform, develop, grow and strengthen the economy."Through its Durban Investment Dashboard strategy, which has more than 65 active projects on the go to the value of R620-billion, Nxumalo said the municipality planned to create more than 600,000 permanent jobs in sectors including maritime activities and logistics, manufacturing, agribusiness and tourism and property development, as well as in green economy projects...