Employment increased by 1.0% on an annualised basis in October‚ following a 1.61% rise in September‚ the latest Adcorp employment index revealed on Monday.
The index is regarded as the most representative monthly barometer of employment trends in SA‚ although its figures do not usually tally with those from SA’s official statistics agency‚ Statistics SA.
Adcorp said that during September and October‚ the economy added 41‚971 jobs‚ partly reversing the decline of 82‚431 jobs observed in the four-month period of May‚ June‚ July and August.
The index showed that jobs growth was observed in all sectors‚ with growth in informal sector jobs continuing to outperform‚ with a rate of 2.3% or 12‚250 jobs during the month.
Strong growth was observed in temporary and agency work‚ with 1.2% and 1.4% growth rates respectively.
Adcorp said the growth in temporary and agency work was likely to continue as the economy ramped up for the year-end retail season.
The primary and secondary sectors of mining and manufacturing continued to shed jobs‚ losing 6‚000 jobs between them during the month.
Adcorp noted the ongoing strikes in the mining sector as a key factor in the decline.
The tertiary sectors‚ mostly services‚ gained 14‚000 jobs during the month. The strongest employment growth was observed in construction (4.7%)‚ financial services (4.3%)‚ and wholesale and retail trade (3.4%).
High-skilled jobs continued to outperform low-skilled jobs‚ with professional and clerical employment growing by 3.0% or 17‚000 jobs‚ while low-skilled employment fell by 1.3% or 6‚000 jobs. - I-Net Bridge