According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES, Q2:2024) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), total employment in the formal non-agricultural sector increased by 42 000 in the second quarter of 2024, bringing the level of employment to 10,7 million. According to the survey 144 000 jobs were lost between June 2023 and June 2024.
The total number of employees grew by 42,000 (0,4%), with employment rising from 10,67 million in March 2024 to 10,72 million by June 2024.

The community services industry recorded the largest job increase, adding 92 000 positions, while the electricity sector saw no change during the same period.

Several industries experienced a decline in employment. The manufacturing sector lost 12 000 jobs, followed by the business services sector with a reduction of 14 000 jobs. Both the mining and transport industries shed 7 000 jobs each, while the trade sector saw a decrease of 5 000 jobs and the construction sector lost 1 000 jobs.

Full-time employment decreased by 39 000 jobs, falling from 9 488 000 in the first quarter of 2024 to 9 449 000 in the second quarter of 2024.

Several industries experienced declines in full-time employment. The manufacturing industry saw a reduction of 17 000 jobs, followed by the mining and transport industries, each losing 7 000 jobs. The trade and business services industries both decreased by 5 000 jobs. The electricity industry reported no change for the quarter.

Conversely, the construction industry reported an increase of 4 000 jobs.

Year-on-year, the number of full-time jobs declined by 40 000 in June 2023 compared to June 2024.

Part-time employment increased by 81 000, reaching a total of 1 267 000 in June 2024, up from 1 186 000 in March 2024. This growth was primarily driven by the community services industry, which added 92 000 jobs, and manufacturing, which added a modest 1 000 jobs. However, the business services and construction industries saw losses of 9 000 and 5 000 part-time jobs, respectively. The electricity, trade, and transport industries remained unchanged for the quarter.

Year-on-year part-time employment declined by 104 000 jobs compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023.
Total gross earnings paid to employees decreased by 0,5%, totalling R952,4 billion in June 2024 compared to R957 billion in March 2024. This decline was primarily driven by the losses in earnings within business services (R27,8 billion) and electricity (R88 million). Six out of the eight industries reported increases in earnings, but this wasn’t enough to counteract the overall decline. The community services industry saw an increase of R10,3 billion, followed by the trade industry with R3,8 billion, the construction industry with R1,3 billion, the transport industry with R1,2 billion, the manufacturing industry with R514 million, and the mining industry with R165 million.

Basic salaries and wages rose by 2,6% (R21,8 billion) in June 2024, reaching R869,7 billion. This growth was mainly due to increases in community services, business services, trade, manufacturing, transport, construction, and mining. However, the electricity industry experienced a decline.

Year-on-year, from June 2023 to June 2024, basic salaries and wages paid to employees increased by 4,4% or R36,8 billion.

Bonus payments fell by R27,5 billion (-33,7%) to reach R54 billion in June 2024 from R81,5 billion reported in March 2024. The quarterly losses were mainly due to declines in business services, manufacturing, community services, and electricity.

Year-on-year, bonus payments declined by 5,7% or R3,2 billion from June 2023 to June 2024.

Overtime payments rose by 4,2% or R1,2 billion, reaching R28,7 billion in the second quarter of 2024. All industries reported increases in overtime payments, except for the transport industry, which saw a decline of R334 million.

From June 2023 to June 2024, overtime payments to employees increased by R1,8 billion, a rise of 6,9%.

The average monthly earnings (AME) paid to employees grew by 2,5% quarter-on-quarter, increasing from R26 783 in February 2024 to R27 450 in May 2024.

Year-on-year, average monthly earnings grew by 4,8%.

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