BusinessLive reports that the number of employed South Africans rose by 87,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018.  

The increase was driven largely by a rise in the number of those employed in the business services, trade and community services sectors, Statistics SA indicated on Tuesday.  This was the first increase after two quarters of contraction.  While SA usually sees a seasonal boost in temporary employment in the fourth quarter, full-time employment also saw an increase of 50,000.  Employment in the business services sector was up 53,000, while trade saw a boost of 49,000 and community services rose by 9,000.  Employment in the primary sectors of the economy, however, took a knock.  Construction shed 18,000 jobs, while mining and quarrying fell by 7,000 and manufacturing by 3,000.  The number of employed, according to the survey — which covered all industries other than agriculture — rose to 10.06-million in the quarter to the end of December.  Compared to a year ago, employment increased by 158,000 or 1.6% year-on-year with an increase of 77,000 in business services, 55,000 in trade and 32,000 in community services.

• Read Sunita Menon’s short report on this story at BusinessLive

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