Formal sector employment edges up

Johannesburg - Employment in South Africa's formal, non-farm sector edged up 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with the previous three months, with mining and manufacturing each adding jobs, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.

On a year-on-year basis, the number of people with formal jobs rose 1% to 8.461 million in the quarter, Statistics South Africa said in a report.

Gross earnings rose 5.9% to nearly R394bn compared with the previous quarter and were up 7.8% over the same period a year ago.

Unemployment in South Africa remains high at nearly 25%, with the threat of job losses hovering over the mining sector, which has grappled with a wave of violent wildcat strikes since last year.