341 000 fewer job opportunities in SA than two years ago: Job creation prospects still bleak in spite of increase - Solidarity

The prospects for job creation in the formal sector still look bleak, in spite of an increase of 17 000 job opportunities from July to September this year, trade union Solidarity said today.

In September of this year there were 341 000 fewer job opportunities in the formal sector than in September 2008. The number of jobs therefore decreased by about 14 000 a month over the past two years.

Solidarity's response comes after the release of the quarterly employment statistics that were issued by Statistics South Africa yesterday. According to these statistics, there are currently close to 8,149,000 jobs in the formal sector.  The same sector had approximately 8,49 million jobs in the same quarter two years ago.

"The recession had a very negative impact on job opportunities in the formal sector. Although there are slight signs of recovery, the effect is still clearly visible," Solidarity spokesperson Ilze Nieuwoudt explained.

She warned that the progress is still not good enough to undo the damage caused by the recession. "Only 5 000 net jobs were created over the past year. At this rate it will take about 70 years for the damage of the recession to be undone."

According to Nieuwoudt, the mining industry saw strong improvement over the past quarter. However, she stresses that the 1,2% increase in job opportunities here was not enough to make up for the loss recorded over the past two years. In September 2008 there were about 532 000 formal workers in the mining industry - approximately 31 000 more than there are today. There are currently about 503 000 workers in this industry.

It is not only the mining industry that is still struggling to lift its head after the recession, Nieuwoudt explained. "The manufacturing industry lost about 41 000 jobs over the past year alone. Over the past quarter, 7 000 jobs were cut here," she said. This sector currently provides work to more than 1,1 million people, 137 000 fewer than in September 2008.

Matters currently look bleak for the construction sector. This industry lost 12 000 job opportunities over the past year and 61 000 over the past two years. Solidarity also warned earlier that the job losses in this sector will continue in 2011 if planned construction projects are not undertaken.

According to the latest Gross Domestic Product figures, growth is very low in this sector. Solidarity blamed the government for delays in construction projects, maintaining that issues like maladministration, questionable tender processes and late payments contribute to problems in this regard.

Solidarity emphasised that the improvement in the number of job opportunities recorded in, for example, the community, social and personal services sector does not point to sustainable growth, as it can for the most part be attributed to the increase in job opportunities in the government.

"The government cannot simply continue to create new government jobs, as this approach is not a sign of progress in the economy and paints a distorted picture of the status of job creation in the country," Nieuwoudt said.

Statement issued by Ilze Nieuwoudt, Spokesperson: Solidarity, December 15 2010

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