Thousand fewer people in jobs in SA in second quarter
South Africa had a thousand fewer people in employment during the second quarter than in the three preceding months, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.
“Employment decreased by 1,000 quarter-on-quarter, from 8,945,000 in March 2015 to 8,944,000 in June 2015,” the statistics service said.
In percentage terms, the slight dip leaves the quarterly employment survey (QES) figure unchanged.
However, the latest figures mark a year-on-year decrease of 1,8 percent between June 2014 and June 2015.
Stats SA said it was largely due to decreases in the manufacturing, transport, construction and business services sectors. The biggest decreases in a year-on-year basis were in construction (4.8 percent) and community services (5.3 percent).
However on a quarterly basis community services increased by 0.3 percent. Similarly, the trade industry increased by 0,4 percent.
Employment in the mining and electricity industries remained unchanged for the second quarter.
Matlapane Masupye, Stats SA’s acting deputy manager for QES, said that the figures for mining had remained stable and that could be attributed to government’s intervention calls on mining companies to hold off on plans to close mines as they struggle through a slump in commodity prices.
“I don’t think it will improve. I think maybe in the next quarter we will see the impact of structural changes which have been placed on hold at government’s request.”
The National Union of Mineworkers said on Monday some 22,000 jobs were under threat in the mining sector, which contributes about seven percent to the local economy. - ANA
(File photo: Gallo Images)