South Africa’s unemployment rate fell by 0.1 of a percentage point to 26.6% in the second quarter, Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA’s) latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) shows.

In total, 129 000 jobs were lost quarter-on-quarter, with both the formal and informal nonagricultural sectors, as well as the agricultural sector shedding jobs.

The quarter-on-quarter decline was driven by job losses in services, at 127 000, agriculture, at 44 000, transport, at 39 000, and mining, at 24 000. Employment gains were recorded for manufacturing, at 67 000 jobs, private households, at 39 000 jobs, and construction, at 25 000 jobs.

On a year-on-year basis, employment decreased by 112 000 jobs in the second quarter, with decreases recorded in six of ten industries. The biggest year-on-year decreases in employment were in transport, at 60 000 jobs, manufacturing, at 45 000 jobs, and agriculture, at 44 000 jobs.

For the year to date, 473 000 jobs were lost compared with the 337 000 that were added in the same period in 2015.

“The outlook for the job market remains poor on the back of lacklustre global and domestic economic conditions, which will hurt business confidence and persuade businesses to scale down new investment and limit employment growth,” Nedbank’s Economic Unit commented on Thursday.

BNP Paribas Securities South Africa economist Jeffrey Schultz agreed that the job market was bleak in the first half of this year.

“The near 500 000 jobs shed in the South African economy in the first half highlights the significant pressure the economy is under – particularly given crimped profitability in most sectors. This is unlikely to sit well with the government and policymakers, particularly on the doorstep of next week’s local government elections,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Stats SA revealed that the number of discouraged job seekers increased by 379 000 quarter-on-quarter, reflecting weak confidence in the current state of the economy.

The expanded unemployment rate, which includes those who are able to work but have given up on looking for jobs, increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 36.4% in the second quarter.

The youth unemployment rate remained high at 37.5%. Nedbank said there were 3.2-million young persons aged between 15 and 24 who were not in employment, education or training.

Persons without matric account for 58.3% of the unemployed.