A spike in machinery imports over the past two to three years is an indicator that businesses in the mining and agriculture sectors are going the automation route to reduce their reliance on unskilled labour. So Etienne le Roux of Economic Services (ECS) told FTW. Not that he would describe it as impending unemployment doom for the workforces in those sectors. But there has been relatively strong growth over the last couple of years – although now tapering off somewhat – of SA companies investing a lot in machinery. Le Roux stressed that part of this would be in upgrading or replacing outof- date equipment. “But there is an element of capital/labour substitution,” he added. “If you look at this fixed investment in machinery, it would suggest that this is happening.”
