Gloom as feeble economy sheds thousands more jobs

More than 100,000 jobs were lost in February this year. Image: Datum Recruitment

Economists are scaling down their growth forecasts as the rising fuel price, higher interest rates and other factors increase employers' expenses and squeeze their margins.

More than 100,000 full-time jobs were lost in February alone, according to a survey released by workforce management company Adcorp on Monday (10 March).

"The biggest losses were in permanent work, which lost 104,593 jobs during the month; and temporary work, which lost 26,832 jobs. Only the informal sector created jobs, numbering 13,028," labour analyst Loane Sharp said.

Mining was the worst hit, followed by transport and logistics.

Adcorp's numbers paint a different picture to those given in Stats SA's quarterly Labour Force Survey, which said that unemployment had dropped by 0.4% in the last three months of last year to 24.1%.

Feeble growth projected

But a survey by the Manpower Group reports only "limited opportunities" for jobseekers for at least the next three months.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said last month that the recession was a hospital pass for President Jacob Zuma when he took office in 2009.

The Treasury expects economic growth of 2.7% this year but Barclays Capital economists have lowered their forecasts.

They now expect the economy to grow by no more than last year's feeble 1.9%.

"We have cut our 2014 growth forecast for South Africa from 2.7% to 2.2% to take account of expected rate hikes, the platinum sector strike and increasingly tight electricity supply constraints," said Barclays in a report released on Monday.

It says that employers are cautious about expanding their businesses in uncertain times.

Lyndy van Barselaar, of Manpower SA, said she expected the employment market to remain "reserved". "Though the businesses environment is recovering from the recession, economic growth has been slow," she said.

A stalemate in the mining sector, shown to be one of the biggest losers last month, is hanging ominously over jobs.

More than 70,000 members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union in the platinum industry have been on strike for seven weeks to press their demand for a R12,500-a-month wage for entry-level workers. But platinum producers Anglo Platinum, Impala and Lonmin said the demand was unaffordable.

Source: The Times via I-Net Bridge