According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES, Q3:2024) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), total employment in the formal non-agricultural sector decreased by 133 000 in the third quarter of 2024, bringing the level of employment to 10,6 million. According to the survey 294 000 jobs were lost between September 2023 and September 2024.
The total number of employees declined by 133,000 (-1,2%), with employment falling from 10,74 million in June 2024 to 10,61 million by September 2024.

The community services industry experienced the most significant job losses, shedding 131 000 jobs. This was followed by the business services industry, which lost 15 000 jobs during the same period. Other sectors also faced declines, with manufacturing down by 4 000 jobs, transport by 3 000 jobs, mining by 2 000 jobs, and electricity by 1 000 jobs.

Despite the overall decline in employment, the trade and construction industries saw increases of 19 000 and 4 000 jobs, respectively.

Full-time employment decreased by 14 000 jobs, falling from 9 468 000 in the second quarter of 2024 to 9 454 000 in the third quarter of 2024.

Several industries saw declines in full-time employment. The business services sector experienced a reduction of 22 000 jobs, followed by the manufacturing sector with a loss of 5 000 jobs. The community services sector decreased by 3 000 jobs, while the mining and transport sectors each lost 2 000 jobs. In contrast, the trade and construction industries saw increases of 17 000 and 3 000 jobs, respectively. The electricity industry reported no change for the quarter.

Year-on-year, the number of full-time jobs declined by 44 000 in September 2023 compared to September 2024.

Part-time employment fell by 119 000, dropping to 1 151 000 in September 2024 from 1 270 000 in June 2024. This decline was mainly due to the community services industry, which lost 128 000 jobs. Both the manufacturing and transport sectors saw modest losses of 1 000 jobs each. On the other hand, the business services and trade industries experienced increases of 7 000 and 2 000 part-time jobs, respectively, followed closely by manufacturing and construction, each adding 1 000 jobs.

Year-on-year part-time employment declined by 250 000 jobs compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023.
Total gross earnings paid to employees increased by 1,3%, totalling R966,3 billion in September 2024 compared to R954,1 billion in June 2024. This growth was primarily driven by the gains in earnings within business services (R12,2 billion), community services (R1,7 billion), mining (R1,5 billion) and electricity (R302 million). However, there were declines reported in gross earnings by the trade industry (R1,2 billion), followed by the manufacturing industry (R908 million), the transport industry (R884 million) and the construction industry (R334 million).

Basic salaries and wages rose by 0,8% (R6,7 billion) in September 2024, reaching R878,2 billion. This growth was mainly due to increases in trade, mining, manufacturing, business services, construction, electricity and transport. However, the community services industry experienced a decline.

Year-on-year, from September 2023 to September 2024, basic salaries and wages paid to employees increased by 3,4% or R28,7 billion.

Bonus payments rose by R6,9 billion (12,9%) to reach R60,7 billion in September 2024 from R53,8 billion reported in June 2024. The quarterly increases were mainly due to growth in business services and community services.

Year-on-year, bonus payments declined by 6,9% or R4,5 billion from September 2023 to September 2024.

Overtime payments fell by 4,8% or R1,4 billion, reaching R27,3 billion in the third quarter of 2024. Even though there was an overall decline in overtime payments, community services and construction reported an increase in the same period.

From September 2023 to September 2024, overtime payments to employees increased by R614 million, a rise of 2,3%.

The average monthly earnings (AME) paid to employees grew by 2,6% quarter-on-quarter, increasing from R27 511 in May 2024 to R28 220 in August 2024.

Year-on-year, average monthly earnings grew by 6,6%.

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