IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

The September 2014 Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) report, released on 11 December 2014, shows that total formal non-agricultural employment decreased by 129 000 jobs from 8,67 million in June 2014 to 8,54 million in September 2014.

132 000 jobs were lost in the government sector. The main contributor to this decline was the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which shed a large number of jobs after the general elections in May 2014. Three other industries recorded declines in employment during the September quarter: 9 000 jobs were lost in the manufacturing industry, while 3 000 jobs were lost in both the construction and transport industries. On the positive side, there were quarter-on-quarter increases reported by the mining (8 000), finance (6 000) and trade (4 000) industries.

Year-on-year, an additional 83 000 formal jobs were created between September 2013 and September 2014. This reflects an annual increase of 1,0%. The largest increase was recorded by community services industry (73 000), followed by the trade and finance industries, with 21 000 and 20 000 jobs respectively.

Gross earnings paid to employees increased by R18,9 billion (+4,6%) from R409 billion in June 2014 to R428 billion in September 2014. The mining industry recorded the largest quarterly percentage increase of 20,9% in earnings, signalling a return of mine workers after the lengthy strike in the platinum belt.

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