JOHANNESBURG - Total employment fell by 80,000 positions, or 0.8 percent, between March and June.
The fall was largely due to job losses in community services, trade, manufacturing, construction, and transport.
However, the mining and electricity sectors saw slight gains.
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Full-time jobs dropped by 44,000 while part-time employment declined by 36,000, with community services and trade again hit hardest.
Despite the job losses, gross earnings rose by 0.2 percent, driven by higher pay in sectors like mining, construction, and manufacturing.
Average monthly earnings increased 3.4 percent between February and May, and were up 6.5 percent year-on-year.