South African jobs contract by 0.8 pct in 2Q

South Africa's employment declined in the second quarter of 2016 by 129,000 to 15.5 million, data released on Thursday showed.

The quarterly decline in total employment was driven by job losses in services, agriculture, transport and mining, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said in its Quarterly Labour Force Survey.

Quarterly employment gains were observed in manufacturing, private households and construction, the agency said.

Formal sector employment declined for two successive quarters to 10.9 million, but was still 0.8 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

The informal sector contracted by 58,000 and was 5.8 percent lower compared to the same period last year.

Unemployment declined by 90,000, which led to a quarterly decline in the unemployment rate by 0.1 of a percentage point to 26.6 percent.

However, during the same period, the level of inactivity increased by 379,000. This implies that those who lost jobs moved into inactivity rather than into unemployment, or that those who were previously looking for work stopped doing so.

Free State and Gauteng provinces reported the highest unemployment rate at 32.2 percent and 29.5 percent respectively. However, both provinces are among the top three with the highest proportion of the working age population who are employed.

The expanded unemployment rate which includes those who did not look for work but were available to work during the reference period increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 36.4 percent. Endit