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BL Premium reports that SA’s formal employment rose by 48,000 in the fourth quarter to nearly 10-million, excluding agriculture and private households. This was advised by Stats SA on Tuesday in its quarterly employment survey.
The quarter-on-quarter figures were mainly driven by trade and business services, respectively, mirroring the seasonal trends associated with the festive period. “Indeed, there is typically an increase in employees in this sector of the economy over the seasonally significant festive period. Other industries failed to increase job numbers by any significant amount over the quarter, evincing the state of the economy, which saw GDP growth fall by a marked -1.3% quarter on quarter, seasonally adjusted, in the fourth quarter,” Investec economist Lara Hodes commented. Total employment dropped by 94,000 or 0.9% when measured on an annual basis. Total gross earnings paid to employees increased by R67.8bn or 8.5%, to R866.6bn quarter on quarter, the survey indicated. “The rise in employment and earnings is great news, but we believe that the outlook for the job market remains uncertain as the economy faces significant headwinds from local and global fronts,” Nedbank economist Johannes Khosa said.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andries Mahlangu at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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