Formal jobs get 93 000 boost

New figures from Statistics SA also show wages increased in quarter

Employment in South Africa’s formal sector was up during the third quarter of this year with 93 000 jobs having been created between June and September.

This is according to Statistics SA which released its quarterly employment statistics (QES) yesterday, which reflect employment growth of 1% compared with the same quarter last year and annual employment growth of 0.9% or 80 000 jobs.

Average monthly pay in the formal sector also grew by an average of R27 during the quarter.

Released in Pretoria, the survey, which also includes data from national, provincial and local government entities, differs from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey released late last month and which included employment in the agriculture sector and was based on household surveys.

The QES covers employment statistics across a wide range of industries from mining, quarrying and manufacturing to transport,insurance and personal services.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber welcomed some of the main findings of the survey and specifically the growth in jobs compared with the same period last year.

“Unemployment has always been an enormous challenge in the Eastern Cape,” chamber chief executive Kevin Hustler said.

“It has always been the chamber’s view that there needs to be a focus on skills development and entrepreneurship if the Eastern Cape workforce is to equip itself to benefit from the opportunities presented by both local and international investment into our region.

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