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Johannesburg - Employment data released on Tuesday showed available jobs in the country's formal sector declined at a faster pace in the third quarter, with at least 79 000 more people left jobless during the period.
Non-farm employment figures dropped 3.9% to 8.1 million in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2008. The annual decline in the second quarter was 2.3%.
"One of the biggest costs of the crisis was job losses," said Elna Moolman, economist at Barnard Jacob Mellet. "But there's a bit of stabilisation in these numbers; we're expecting some improvement in the early part of next year and job-creation towards the end of 2010."
Mining, construction and manufacturing - three of South Africa's key sectors - shed the most jobs in the year to end-September. The mining sector lost almost 9% of its labour force during that period, while construction and manufacturing both suffered losses of about 8%.
In terms of quarterly drops, construction was the sector that retrenched the most workers between June and September (2.5%).
State appointments still ongoing
Stats SA said this was due to the completion of many construction projects and a job drought following the boom of the past three years.
The consumer goods industry - such as motor retail, leisure and household goods - also reported a sizeable drop (2% quarter-on-quarter) after South Africans cut discretionary spending in an effort to reduce debt.
On the flip side, government is still hiring and this was evident in the 3.3% annual increase in civil servants, teachers and health practitioners.
The only private industry showing a small indication of recovery was logistics and communications. Jobs here fell 3.3% annually in the third quarter but increased by a marginal 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, after a modest increase in workers involved in transporting goods by truck and rail.
However, Moolman said it was difficult to determine whether the job-creation in this sector was due to seasonal factors, or a turning point in the economy.
- Fin24.com