JOHANNESBURG, 15 OCTOBER 2020 – The quarterly employment statistics (QES) data released today by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) runs counter to the Government’s economic recovery plan, which needs all productive hands on deck in order to ensure success, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern African (SEIFSA) Chief Economist Michael Ade said today.
According to the QES data, the broader manufacturing sector, of which the metals and engineering (M&E) sector forms an integral part, lost 8.2% of total employment, comprising an alarming 100,000 jobs in June 2020 as compared with June 2019. There was also a corresponding decrease on a quarterly basis, with manufacturing employment decreasing by 85,000 jobs or -7.1% in quarter two when compared with quarter one.
Dr Ade said the data showed that the M&E cluster of industries had felt the double whammy of the COVID-19-induced economic lockdown and stagnant economy, as its sub-components had recorded the biggest decrease in job numbers. He said there were also decreases in employment in the basic metals, fabricated metal products, general machinery and equipment, and transport equipment sub-sectors.
