Adcorp says SA shed 34,654 jobs in August

The biggest job losses were recorded for permanent jobs, with sharp losses in mining, construction, transport and financial services, amounting to 26,000 job losses between them.

The index also showed that in 2013, 3.96m workers were absent due to sickness during the year, up from 0.7m in 2000, according to Adcorp.

"Due to the unplanned and unpredictable nature of sick leave, the knock-on disruptive effect on supply chains has probably been greater than these figures suggest," Adcorp Holdings labour economist Loane Sharp said.

He said it might have led, in part, to the growing phenomenon of temporary or "contingency" workers, many of whom fill in for other employees who are absent.

Adcorp research showed that between 2009 and 2011, one-quarter of all workers claimed the maximum statutory allowance for sick leave which is 36 days in a three-year cycle.

The index also showed that sickness-related absenteeism had increased four-fold since 2007, with significant costs to the economy.

"Cumulatively, since 2000, the economy has lost R55.2bn in real terms due to sickness," Sharp said.

The firm said in genuine cases of illness, the workplace and the nature of the work itself might be implicated in absenteeism while in false cases, the take-up of statutory maximum sick leave allowances was a function of how generous those allowances were, and the degree to which absenteeism was monitored and controlled.

"It is alarming that sick leave in SA has been rising continuously over the past decade and at present shows no signs of abating," said Sharp.