LIST OF LABOUR INTENSIVE SECTORS AND INDUSTRIES IN THE FREE STATE

Abstract

Three main measures are used to rank the labour-intensity of economic sectors neither of which are inherently superior; each bring different insights and are useful in different ways. The first is the labour-capital ratio. This is the ratio between employment and capital stock. Second is the labour-value added ratio. This shows the ratio between employment and value added. Notably, the labour-value added ratio is the inverse of labour productivity. Thirdly, employment multipliers are calculated per sector. These multipliers are used to show the indirect labour-intensity and allow for comparison across sectors. It is important to note the existence of leakages to avoid an overstatement of employment multipliers. As such an import-adjusted measure which excludes imported intermediate inputs used to rank sectors according to employment multipliers.