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Johannesburg - According to the Adcorp Employment Index for May, labour brokers constitute a R44bn industry employing around 19 500 internal staff and just over one million agency workers or temps in South Africa.
In other countries, where labour brokers are called private employment agencies, the industry employs 741 000 internal staff and assign nearly 20 million agency workers in an industry worth R2.3 trillion globally.
Agency work now constitutes 7.5% of total employment in South Africa, and it is likely to grow further.
In countries with similar levels of economic development, temporary work represents between 12% and 19% of total employment, Loane Sharp, Adcorp’s labour market analyst, said.
“The use of labour brokers is overwhelmingly connected to peaks in demand - cited by 61% of Adcorp clients - and filling in for absent employees - cited by 48% of clients,” said Sharp.
“Temporary workers are not substitutes for permanent workers. They play different roles, connected to one or other cycle in the production process, that leads to variable demand for labour.”
Adcorp’s research shows that 3.9 million workers representing 29% of total employment are temporary in nature.
The overwhelming majority (74%) is employed by companies directly, and a minority (26%), mostly in medium and large business enterprises, are employed through agencies.
The growth experienced by labour brokers comes despite an overall drop in employment in May, which saw it fall at an annualised rate of 0.8%, according to the index.
The economy shed 13 097 jobs in May. It was mostly in the permanent, full-time work sector, which lost 16 108 jobs.
“The informal sector created 11 009 jobs during the month, whereas employment in the formal sector fell by 24 106,” said Sharp. “Aside from the informal sector, the only part of the economy that created jobs in May was the agency work sector, which created 370 jobs during the month.”
The May index showed job losses were focused in the retail and wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors, which lost 11 000 and 7 000 jobs respectively.
These job losses were offset to some extent by job creation in the government sector. Government employment remained strong, with 8 000 jobs created during the month.
Sharp pointed out that the unemployment rate in South Africa is one of the highest in the developing world. Officially it is 25% or, in terms of the broader definition which includes people who have given up hope of finding work, it could be as high as 37%.
About 52 % of job seekers using Adcorp have never worked before, 81% are young people and 94% are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Temporary employment is an important stepping stone for inexperienced African youth into formal, permanent jobs. About 28% go on to permanent employment within one year and 37% do so within three years,” said Sharp.
The index also shows that agency workers spend less time looking for work – 90 days, compared to two years and three months for the average South African job seeker.
- Fin24
In other countries, where labour brokers are called private employment agencies, the industry employs 741 000 internal staff and assign nearly 20 million agency workers in an industry worth R2.3 trillion globally.
Agency work now constitutes 7.5% of total employment in South Africa, and it is likely to grow further.
In countries with similar levels of economic development, temporary work represents between 12% and 19% of total employment, Loane Sharp, Adcorp’s labour market analyst, said.
“The use of labour brokers is overwhelmingly connected to peaks in demand - cited by 61% of Adcorp clients - and filling in for absent employees - cited by 48% of clients,” said Sharp.
“Temporary workers are not substitutes for permanent workers. They play different roles, connected to one or other cycle in the production process, that leads to variable demand for labour.”
Adcorp’s research shows that 3.9 million workers representing 29% of total employment are temporary in nature.
The overwhelming majority (74%) is employed by companies directly, and a minority (26%), mostly in medium and large business enterprises, are employed through agencies.
The growth experienced by labour brokers comes despite an overall drop in employment in May, which saw it fall at an annualised rate of 0.8%, according to the index.
The economy shed 13 097 jobs in May. It was mostly in the permanent, full-time work sector, which lost 16 108 jobs.
“The informal sector created 11 009 jobs during the month, whereas employment in the formal sector fell by 24 106,” said Sharp. “Aside from the informal sector, the only part of the economy that created jobs in May was the agency work sector, which created 370 jobs during the month.”
The May index showed job losses were focused in the retail and wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors, which lost 11 000 and 7 000 jobs respectively.
These job losses were offset to some extent by job creation in the government sector. Government employment remained strong, with 8 000 jobs created during the month.
Sharp pointed out that the unemployment rate in South Africa is one of the highest in the developing world. Officially it is 25% or, in terms of the broader definition which includes people who have given up hope of finding work, it could be as high as 37%.
About 52 % of job seekers using Adcorp have never worked before, 81% are young people and 94% are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Temporary employment is an important stepping stone for inexperienced African youth into formal, permanent jobs. About 28% go on to permanent employment within one year and 37% do so within three years,” said Sharp.
The index also shows that agency workers spend less time looking for work – 90 days, compared to two years and three months for the average South African job seeker.
- Fin24
