Transport was one of the most important job creation sectors for the second quarter of 2011, according to the Stats SA quarterly labour force survey for the period. In the formal sector, transport employed 50 000 more people in the second quarter of 2011 – totalling 777 000 – than it did in the first quarter. This was second only to the 73 000 jobs created in the finance sector. Big losses were reported in a number of key industries that have a direct effect on the freight sector: 68 000 in manufacturing, followed by mining (31 000), and trade (18 000). A total of 21 000 formal sector jobs were lost between the first and second quarters of 2011. Year-on-year, most job losses were experienced in private households (40 000), mining (33 000) and agriculture (32 000). The informal transport sector created 19 000 informal jobs in the second quarter. Other big gains were in finance (21 000), and construction (21 000). However, 21 000 jobs were lost in the informal trade sector. Overall, formal sector employment contracted by 21 000 jobs, while informal sector employment increased by 34 000 jobs. There were job losses in six of the nine provinces, with the biggest increase in the unemployment rate being North West (2,3%), Eastern Cape (2%) Limpopo (1,8%) and Gauteng (1,3%). This translates into 34 000 Gauteng jobs, followed by North West (31 000), and the Eastern Cape (16 000). Job gains were reported in KwaZulu-Natal (71 000) and the Western Cape (21 000). The unemployment rate increased among the black African (1%) and coloured (0,5%) populations, while it decreased among the Indian/Asian and white populations (0,9% each). Year-on-year, the unemployment rate increased among the black African, Indian/Asian and coloured populations and decreased among the white population, according to Stats SA.
