Fedusa disappointed by latest employment stats
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) on Monday said it was distressed by news that the South African economy lost 15,000 jobs in the formal sector in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the last three months of 2015.
Reacting to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES), released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) on Monday, Fedusa general secretary Dennis George said the latest figures which show job losses in all sectors except community services, construction, and electricity, was disappointing given the amount of work government’s social partners had put into growing the economy.
"The South African economy is clearly still not recovering from the onslaught of financial, global and self–inflicted political thrashings, whilst the mayhem activated by the recent British exit from the EU continues to hamstring economic growth and progress," said George.
Many of the jobs lost were in the retail trade, hotels and restaurant industries.
"This presents a grave challenge to the affected industries, where FEDUSA membership enjoys a large percentage of the representation," said George.
George said while Fedusa supports government’s nine-point plan to spur economic growth and create jobs, the federation said a more proactive stance was needed to stimulate job creation and improve the growth rate of the economy. - ANA