Job losses in retail, manufacturing

Jo-Maré Duddy – Two of the heavyweights in the economy – manufacturing, as well as wholesale and retail trade – suffered job losses in the second quarter of this year.The latest data released by the Bank of Namibia (BoN) shows the two sectors were both on an annual and a quarterly basis.Employment in the wholesale and retail trade sector decreased by 4.8% year-on-year and 3.7% quarter-on-quarter. In the manufacturing sector, employment was down 6.8% year-on-year and 8% quarter-on-quarter.“The year on-year decline in employment in the wholesale and retail trade sector was mostly reflected in clothing and supermarkets, while in the manufacturing sector it was registered in most subsectors, but driven mainly by the fabricated metals and mineral processing subsectors,” the BoN says.Figures released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) show manufacturing contracted by 30.8% in the second quarter, while wholesale and retail registered negative growth of 22.5%.Manufacturing contributed 11.1% to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter, compared to 14% in the same three months in 2019. Wholesale and retail's contribution was 10.3% against 11.1% in 2019.WagesThe nominal and average wages in the wholesale and retail trade sector decreased, both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, during the second quarter of 2020. Nominal and average wages in the wholesale and retail trade sector decreased by 16.8% and 17.1% year-on-year respectively during the second quarter of 2020. “The year-on-year reduction was more reflected in the furniture, wholesale and vehicle sales, caused largely by the Covid-19 pandemic-induced effects,” the BoN says.Similarly, on a quarterly basis, the nominal wages and average wage bill in the wholesale and retail trade sector decreased by 16.2% and 13.3%, respectively, over the same period.Nominal and average wages in the manufacturing sector increased, both year on-year and quarter-on-quarter during the second quarter of 2020. The nominal and average wages in the manufacturing sector increased year-on-year by 3.8% and 11.4% respectively. “Improved wages were observed in several subsectors of the manufacturing sector, led by beverages, food products, basic metals and textile, as well as clothing,” according to the BoN.Similarly, on a quarterly basis, the nominal wages and average wage bill in the manufacturing sector increased by 3.9% and 13% respectively, over the same period.Unit labour costsUnit labour costs for the manufacturing sector increased both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter during the second quarter. Total unit labour costs for the manufacturing sector increased by 33.2% and 12.4% year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, respectively. According to the BoN, the year-on-year increase in the sector’s unit labour costs was primarily due to decreased output per worker registered in subsectors such as fabricated metals, beverages, printing and publishing, as well as textiles and wearing apparel. “The surge in the total unit labour costs for the manufacturing sector renders the sector less competitive in the international market. Since output is due to recover after the pandemic, unit labour costs could be expected to normalise, at least to some extent,” the BoN says.

Job losses in retail, manufacturing

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-16

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Job losses in retail, manufacturing

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-16

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