APA-Pretoria (South Africa) South Africa lost 21,000 full-time jobs in the trade, business services, transport and construction sectors in the first quarter of 2023, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has announced in Pretoria.
Announcing this in its latest quarterly employment data on Tuesday, Stats SA said total employment decreased by more than 21,000 between December last year and March this year due to the country’s economy weak growth during the period.
The job losses were a continuation of rising unemployment in the formal sector that has seen over 97,000 jobs lost between March 2022 and March this year, the agency said.
Due to this overall negative trend, gross earnings paid to employees decreased by four percent between December and March 2023, it added.
In contrast, part-time employment increased by 42,000 jobs in the first three months of this year – doubling the number of jobs the market gained during the same period.
On a positive note, some gains in employment were recorded in government, mining, manufacturing and electricity industries, the agency said, without citing the figures.
NM/jn/APA