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Johannesburg - Sharp job losses were observed in mining, manufacturing and financial services sectors in September, according to the latest Adcorp Employment Index.
Job losses in these three sectors amounted to 30 000 job losses between them.
Job shedding in the permanent jobs market accounted for 95.4% of all job losses in September.
The index shows that the South African economy shed 74 523 jobs during September.
The biggest job losses occurred in the permanent jobs sector, which dropped by 71 099 during the month.
Temporary jobs declined by a relatively small 3 424 and agency work shed just 319 jobs over the same period.
Since January 2013, the formal sector has shed 260 826 jobs whereas the informal sector has created 48 828 jobs.
Adcorp believes that the current malaise around unemployment could play a significant role in the outcome of the 2014 elections.
“It is clear that nothing affects the national political mood more than the sense of security that people feel in their jobs,” said Adcorp labour economist Loane Sharp.
“The swing factor for the 2014 election will come from established workers, who have lost faith in their trade unions and who have developed a kind of 'strike fatigue’."
He based his conclusion on a decline in both union membership and union member participation in strikes.
“The emerging black middle class has the most to lose from uncertain job prospects, because all the things the middle class values – like political conservatism, property ownership, retirement saving and quality education – depend on having a stable and secure job,” said Sharp.
Two important indicators of the cyclical health of the labour market – namely the involuntary retrenchment rate, which is at an all-time high and the rate of voluntary job changes, which is at an all-time low – suggest that the job market is in a deep crisis, according to Sharp.
The number of strikes and the number of workdays lost due to strikes and work stoppages have increased steadily in recent years.
Just three years ago, the annual strike season lasted fewer than three months whereas now it lasts more than 10 months of the year.
The number of economic sectors involved in strikes have expanded greatly.
"A slew of economic indicators, including manufacturing and mining production, export volumes and the exchange rate of the rand, clearly show the adverse impact of strikes," said Sharp.
"A growing number of notable voices – including the World Economic Forum, the International Monetary Fund, the secretary general of the ANC and even the drafters of the original Labour Relations Act of 1995 – have decried the perpetual conflict in South African labour relations."
As part of their research for September, Adcorp also examined the relationship between its Employment Index and that of Statistics South Africa.
"There are also two niggling disputes: the first about the scale of work in the informal sector, and the second about sizeable discrepancies between Statistics SA’s statistical and administrative data," said Sharp.
"Adcorp’s understanding is that Statistics SA’s department of population statistics is currently exploring these discrepancies in thorough and serious ways."
- Fin24
Job losses in these three sectors amounted to 30 000 job losses between them.
Job shedding in the permanent jobs market accounted for 95.4% of all job losses in September.
The index shows that the South African economy shed 74 523 jobs during September.
The biggest job losses occurred in the permanent jobs sector, which dropped by 71 099 during the month.
Temporary jobs declined by a relatively small 3 424 and agency work shed just 319 jobs over the same period.
Since January 2013, the formal sector has shed 260 826 jobs whereas the informal sector has created 48 828 jobs.
Adcorp believes that the current malaise around unemployment could play a significant role in the outcome of the 2014 elections.
“It is clear that nothing affects the national political mood more than the sense of security that people feel in their jobs,” said Adcorp labour economist Loane Sharp.
“The swing factor for the 2014 election will come from established workers, who have lost faith in their trade unions and who have developed a kind of 'strike fatigue’."
He based his conclusion on a decline in both union membership and union member participation in strikes.
“The emerging black middle class has the most to lose from uncertain job prospects, because all the things the middle class values – like political conservatism, property ownership, retirement saving and quality education – depend on having a stable and secure job,” said Sharp.
Two important indicators of the cyclical health of the labour market – namely the involuntary retrenchment rate, which is at an all-time high and the rate of voluntary job changes, which is at an all-time low – suggest that the job market is in a deep crisis, according to Sharp.
The number of strikes and the number of workdays lost due to strikes and work stoppages have increased steadily in recent years.
Just three years ago, the annual strike season lasted fewer than three months whereas now it lasts more than 10 months of the year.
The number of economic sectors involved in strikes have expanded greatly.
"A slew of economic indicators, including manufacturing and mining production, export volumes and the exchange rate of the rand, clearly show the adverse impact of strikes," said Sharp.
"A growing number of notable voices – including the World Economic Forum, the International Monetary Fund, the secretary general of the ANC and even the drafters of the original Labour Relations Act of 1995 – have decried the perpetual conflict in South African labour relations."
As part of their research for September, Adcorp also examined the relationship between its Employment Index and that of Statistics South Africa.
"There are also two niggling disputes: the first about the scale of work in the informal sector, and the second about sizeable discrepancies between Statistics SA’s statistical and administrative data," said Sharp.
"Adcorp’s understanding is that Statistics SA’s department of population statistics is currently exploring these discrepancies in thorough and serious ways."
- Fin24
