This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
BusinessTech reports that the latest data from Stats SA’s Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) shows that formal employment in the country is under severe strain, particularly in the community services sector. Formal employment in SA in the second quarter of 2025 dropped by 80,000 jobs quarter-on-quarter and by 229,000 jobs year-on-year.
The QES is an employer survey that tracks the number of formal jobs in the country, excluding agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing and private households. Total employment decreased by 80,000 or 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, from 10,589,000 in March 2025 to 10,509,000 in June 2025. This was largely due to a decrease in the following industries: community services (-53,000), trade (-10,000), manufacturing (-9,000), construction (-7,000), transport (-2,000) and business services (-2,000). However, there were increases in mining (+2,000) and electricity (+1,000). Total employment decreased by 229,000 or 2.1% year-on-year between June 2024 and June 2025, down from 10,738,000 last year.
Year-on-year job losses were mostly recorded in community services (-225,000), followed by manufacturing (-18,000), mining (-6,000), transport (-3,000) and trade (-1,000). Job gains year-on-year were recorded in electricity (+1,000) and business services (+23,000), with a flat result for construction.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessTech
- Read too, Stats SA reports 80,000 jobs lost in Q2, at TimesLIVE
Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page