SECTOR STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYMENT CREATION

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) outlines sector-specific strategies to drive employment creation in South Africa through structural transformation. It identifies the decline of manufacturing—which fell from 21% of GDP in 1994 to 13% in 2016—as a critical issue and proposes targeted interventions in the metals, machinery and equipment, agriculture and agro-processing, and plastics conversion sectors to reverse deindustrialisation and leverage regional and global demand.

• South Africa has experienced premature deindustrialisation, with manufacturing's contribution to GDP dropping from 21% in 1994 to 13% in 2016, resulting in a net loss of 237,413 jobs during that period.
• The machinery and equipment sector, particularly for mineral equipment, presents a significant job creation opportunity. Implementing a regional strategy to meet SADC demand could create 45,000 direct jobs by 2023, with a total impact of approximately 270,000 jobs including multipliers.
• The fruit industry is a high-potential, labour-intensive area for employment. If South Africa achieves a 10% annual export growth and 3% local/regional growth, production volumes could increase by 44% by 2022, creating 130,000 additional jobs.
• South Africa has missed opportunities in the avocado market despite global demand growing at 14% per annum (2012-2017) and China doubling its demand in 2018. Constraints include limited market access, high concentration of ownership of intellectual property for varietals, and nursery capacity limits causing two-year waiting lists.
• The plastics conversion industry has shed 16,163 jobs between 2002 and 2016 due to import penetration and loss of competitiveness. If the industry grew at a 6% CAGR (matching 1994-2002 levels), it could increase employment by over 40,000 by 2024.
• To improve the plastics sector, the document proposes removing the 10% duty on perspex, regulating chemical feedstock prices through NERSA/DOE, and establishing local clusters for light manufacturing in partnership with major metros.

APA

Mondliwa, P., & Bell, J. (2018). SECTOR STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYMENT CREATION. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-1-Policy-Brief-5-Sector-Strategies-for-Employment-Creation.pdf

Chicago

Mondliwa, Pamela, and Jason Bell. SECTOR STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYMENT CREATION. Institute for Economic Justice, 2018. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-1-Policy-Brief-5-Sector-Strategies-for-Employment-Creation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mondliwa |first1=Pamela |last2=Bell |first2=Jason |title=SECTOR STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYMENT CREATION |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=August 2018 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-1-Policy-Brief-5-Sector-Strategies-for-Employment-Creation.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mondliwa2018sector, author = {Mondliwa, Pamela and Bell, Jason}, title = {{SECTOR STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYMENT CREATION}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-1-Policy-Brief-5-Sector-Strategies-for-Employment-Creation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }