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The quarterly employment survey delivered by Statistician-General Pali Lehohla in Pretoria on Tuesday reflected a net quarterly decrease of 48 000 (-0.5%) employees between December 2016 and March 2017.
With South Africa’s unemployment rate already at an all time high, 26.5%; and those entering the job market hoping for some good news, the latest employment figures released by Statistics South Africa hold no reprieve.
Significant decreases were observed in the trade, business services and community services industries with 32 000, 23 000 and 8 000 job cuts respectively.
Although the decreases in employment recorded this quarter were reportedly due to end of contracts for workers who were employed during the festive season, economist Gideon Pimstone of Consilium Capital chose to focus on a different reason.
“The most affected sector according to the quarterly employment survey is the tertiary sector,” noted Pimstone.
According to Pimstone, the answer is not only in attaining a tertiary education: “There are vacancies in the tertiary sector, however companies are more interested in skilled individuals.”
“The answer lies in skills development,” says Pimstone.
According to Pimstone, the government has already taken a step towards achieving this through introducing the skills development levy.
“These funds should be used to address the training and development needs within a workplace environment” added Pimstone.
Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla believed the state wasn’t doing enough when it came to unemployment.
“The government needs to take a more hands-on approach in solving the issue of job losses and not only leave it in the hands of the private sector,” said Pamla.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. There were increases in employment reported in the construction and mining industries with 12 000 and 8 000 employees respectively.
