- Full-time jobs fell by 40,000 between March and June, while part-time jobs rose by 26,000 in the very same quarter.
- Companies paid workers R4.8 billion less overall this quarter, even though average earnings are still up slightly compared to a year ago.
South Africa’s formal job market lost 14,000 jobs overall between March and June, but the real story is what kind of jobs are disappearing, and what is replacing them.
New figures from Statistics South Africa show employment in private non-agricultural businesses dropped from 10.439 million in March to 10.425 million in June, a fall of 0.1%. But behind that small overall number, full-time jobs fell by 40,000, dropping from 9.37 million to 9.33 million, while part-time jobs grew by 26,000 in the very same three months, rising from 1.069 million to 1.095 million.
In several of the same industries losing jobs, work is shifting from full-time to part-time. Business services and manufacturing each lost 17,000 full-time positions this quarter, business services also added 4,000 part-time jobs in the same period. Community services added 32,000 part-time jobs, the biggest gain of any industry.
Statistics South Africa’s Director of Quarterly Employment Statistics, Matlapane Masupye, said the losses came from business services, manufacturing, trade, transport, community services and electricity.
“Full-time employment decreased by 40 thousand quarter-on-quarter, from 9,370,000 in March 2026, to 9,330,000 in June 2026,” Masupye said.
The picture is worse over the longer term. South Africa had 95,000 fewer jobs in June 2026 than in June 2025, and full-time jobs alone fell by 96,000 over the same year, meaning nearly all of the year’s net job losses came from full-time positions disappearing.
There is also less money going to workers overall. Total earnings paid to employees fell by R4.8 billion this quarter, from R1.03 trillion in March to R1.025 trillion in June, even though average pay is still up 3.5% compared to a year ago. In simple terms, companies are paying out less in total wages this quarter, even as the average worker who kept their job earns a little more than they did last year.
The pattern was not the same everywhere. Manufacturing lost jobs across the board, both full-time and part-time, a sign of straightforward decline rather than one replacing the other. Construction and trade also lost small numbers of part-time jobs alongside their full-time losses.
