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Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma has played down the fact that the economy lost 122 000 jobs in the first quarter of 2014, ascribing this to “seasonal factors” which have been significantly reversed.
In reply to DA MP Dean Macpherson, who asked what action would be taken to stimulate economic growth and stop the contraction in the manufacturing sector while improving the country’s credit rating and curbing labour unrest, Zuma said in the year to the second quarter of 2014, employment climbed by 403 000.
Since the third quarter of 2010, “when the New Growth Path was adopted”, Zuma said the economy had gained almost 1.4 million new jobs.
Zuma said he has been advised that job losses in the first quarter of financial years “often reflect seasonal fluctuation". Since the quarterly labour force survey was launched in 2008, the economy has seen an average 0.5% fall in employment in the first quarter “with compensating growth in the rest of the year”.
Asked by Macpherson how his government would fight to reduce inflation to ensure achievement of the national development plan’s target of 5 million new jobs by 2020, Zuma said the key elements of the programme are to stimulate growth through the largest public investment in infrastructure in any five-year period since at least the 1960s.
A local procurement drive to ensure that government purchases have the greatest possible multiplier effect and “stretch targets” to expand post-secondary education substantially “combined with measures to facilitate the immigration of skilled people in the short run" are being put in place.
Zuma argued that the sluggish manufacturing sector has seen an increase in production over five years but “this has not been matched by growth in employment”. Among others, solutions to this problem lay in industrial support services, production of inputs - notably agricultural and mining - and retail sales.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has been given the task of improving labour relations.
- Fin24
In reply to DA MP Dean Macpherson, who asked what action would be taken to stimulate economic growth and stop the contraction in the manufacturing sector while improving the country’s credit rating and curbing labour unrest, Zuma said in the year to the second quarter of 2014, employment climbed by 403 000.
Since the third quarter of 2010, “when the New Growth Path was adopted”, Zuma said the economy had gained almost 1.4 million new jobs.
Zuma said he has been advised that job losses in the first quarter of financial years “often reflect seasonal fluctuation". Since the quarterly labour force survey was launched in 2008, the economy has seen an average 0.5% fall in employment in the first quarter “with compensating growth in the rest of the year”.
Asked by Macpherson how his government would fight to reduce inflation to ensure achievement of the national development plan’s target of 5 million new jobs by 2020, Zuma said the key elements of the programme are to stimulate growth through the largest public investment in infrastructure in any five-year period since at least the 1960s.
A local procurement drive to ensure that government purchases have the greatest possible multiplier effect and “stretch targets” to expand post-secondary education substantially “combined with measures to facilitate the immigration of skilled people in the short run" are being put in place.
Zuma argued that the sluggish manufacturing sector has seen an increase in production over five years but “this has not been matched by growth in employment”. Among others, solutions to this problem lay in industrial support services, production of inputs - notably agricultural and mining - and retail sales.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has been given the task of improving labour relations.
- Fin24
