By Peter kratz | Director
Men on the Side of the Road Project and its members did not escape the economic whirlwind that has decimated the South African job market. In the past 12 months more than 1 million jobs disappeared from the formal economy.
Our members work by and large in casual jobs and in the informal sector. This market has suffered a double blow as newly unemployed people join the already desperate work seekers on the side of the road suffering from the virtual elimination of casual employment in many sectors.
By our estimate more than 1 million casual days of employment were lost in the last 6 months of the year due to the economic slowdown. The economic and social impact of these lost work opportunities on people that live hand to mouth is disastrous.
We have managed to maintain our overall footprint during the year despite difficulties in some regions. Placement days have fallen slightly in 2009 compared to 2008. On the positive side tight budgets and reasonable consistent placement performance has resulted in impressive improvements in efficiency in 2009.
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