More jobs created in retail

Less in manufacturing
On a quarterly basis, employment in the wholesale and retail sector increased by 2.1%.
Jo-Maré Duddy
  • 2 Days Ago
Employment in Namibia’s manufacturing sector decreased by 1.5% year-on-year (y/y) in the past quarter, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) said on Tuesday.

On a quarterly basis, however, employment in the sector increased by 0.1%.

In the wholesale and retail sector, employment rose by 1.7% y/y during the third quarter of this year.

The increase in employment was seen across most subsectors, except the furniture subsector, according to the BoN’s latest Quarterly Bulletin.

On a quarterly basis, employment in the wholesale and retail sector increased by 2.1%.



Wages

The nominal wage bill and average wages in the wholesale and retail trade sector decreased by 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively, on a yearly basis.

On a quarterly basis, both the nominal wage bill and average wages increased by 1.8% and 3.4%, respectively.

In the manufacturing sector, the nominal wage bill and average wages increased by 14.7% and 16.4% y/y.

The increase was mainly due to growth in certain subsectors, including non-metallic minerals and food and beverages, the BoN said.

On a quarterly basis, the nominal wage bill and average wages decreased by 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.



Unit costs

Unit labour costs in the manufacturing sector decreased both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter during the third quarter of this year.

The total unit labour costs decreased by 2.0% y/y and by 0.5% on a quarterly basis.

This decrease in unit labour costs is beneficial for the competitiveness of Namibia’s products in the export market, the BoN noted.