More than a hundred unemployed people queuing for the social relief grant at the Post office in Durban. File Picture: Bongani Mbatha/African News Agency (ANA)
Durban — A South African trade union has said employment numbers are “disheartening”.
This is after Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) announced that total employment decreased by 119 000 (-1.2% quarter-on-quarter) from 10 067 000 in March 2022 to 9 948 000 in June 2022.
Stats SA said total employment increased by 74 000 or 0.7% year-on-year between June 2021 and June 2022, while full-time employment decreased by 80 000 (-0.9% year-on-year) between June 2021 and June 2022 and part-time employment increased by 154 000 or 15.9% year-on-year between June 2021 and June 2022.
Looking beyond the dismal numbers lurks the reality of millions of impoverished South Africans in dire need of employment.
In a statement, United Association of South Africa (UASA) spokesperson Abigail Moyo said UASA is deeply concerned about the economic woes that the country is facing and is projected to face in the future.
“We are saddened to see our economy shrink before our eyes and jobless workers survive from hand to mouth. Load shedding continues to be a disruptive force challenging an economy struggling to recover or create new jobs,” Moyo said.
“UASA’s main concern is that economic disaster looms. The critical need for economic sustainability is employment, but our economy is failing to produce sufficient jobs for its people. With load shedding now an everyday problem, businesses struggle to keep their head above water as they have to look for alternative power supply sources, adding more expenses to business operations. Cutting staff is often the only solution to survive.”
Moyo said “enough is enough! Creating employment and economic sustainability for all citizens of South Africa must be a government priority”.
“We call on the government and relevant stakeholders to be proactive and take decisive action now. South Africans want to be heard and demand action,” Moyo said.
On Tuesday, Moyo said businesses and jobs crumble as Eskom stumbles on.
“Businesses, small and large, crumble due to disruptions in productivity coupled with additional expenses for alternative power supplies. Over and above, massive job losses will soon follow if enterprises cannot make a profit or pay their workers. Our members have household and other expenses to pay for, while sometimes getting paid less due to load shedding disrupting their work life,” she said.
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