We prove a Jackson type theorem for rational functions with prescribed numerator degree: For continuous functions f: [—1,1] —> ℝ with ℓ sign changes in (—1,1), there exists a real rational function Rℓ,n(x) with numerator degree ℓ and denominator degree at most n, that changes sign exactly where f does, and such that
Here C is independent of f, n and ℓ, and ωφ is the Ditzian-Totik modulus of continuity. For special functions such as f(x) = sign(x)|x|α we consider improvements of the Jackson rate.