SA economy shed 79,000 formal jobs in first quarter

| Friday June 25, 2010 00:00

Year-on-year, the number of employed persons fell by 2,9 percent, or 242 000 employees, in the quarter ended March 31, 2010. Stats SA noted that just under 8,1-million people were estimated to be employed in the formal sector at the end of the quarter. The mining and quarrying industry increased employment by 3, 000 employees, or 0,6 percent, quarter-on-quarter, but the number of employees declined by 9 000, or 1,8 percent, year-on-year.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the manufacturing industry also increased its employment levels by 3 000 employees, or 0,3 percent. However, it recorded a year-on-year decline in employment of 51 000 employees, representing a 4,1 percent decline.With many construction projects having been completed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the construction sector shed 50,000 employees, representing a 10,9 percent decline, year-on-year and 7,000 employees, representing a 1,7 percent decline, on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Employment services company Adcorp's latest Employment Index also showed a marked decline in employment in the construction and trade sectors during April and May.

Between April and May, the Adcorp index recorded a 6,2 percent decline in employment, with employment in the construction sector dropping by 10,2 percent and in the trade sector by 9,2 percent.

Adcorp CEO Richard Pike noted that the sharp decline in these two sectors reflected the maturity of public infrastructure projects and the continued weakness in consumer spending.

'We have seen employment fall across all job types and particularly among low_skilled and semiskilled workers, who are typically employed in the construction and trade sectors, which saw a 10,1 percent and 7,4 percent fall respectively,' he added._Full-time permanent employment also fell by 7,2 percent month-on-month.Meanwhile, Adcorp highlighted that unemployment for highly skilled professionals in South Africa stood at just 1,4 percent.-(Reuters)