In South Africa, the general perception of employment performance has been rather negative. Critics argue that despite improved economic growth rates during the 1990s and 2000s, these gains have not been translated into increased utilisation of the country's labour resources. This article explores these issues by examining how the employment intensity of growth in the non-agricultural formal sector has evolved, with a view to identifying key growth sectors that are employment-intensive. A sectoral analysis reveals that there has been a decrease in employment intensity in the mining and manufacturing sectors, suggestive of a jobless growth in these sectors. Sectors within the tertiary sector were found to be the best performing sectors. This highlights the changing structure of the economy and employment shifting away from primary towards tertiary sectors. Investment in these sectors is necessary to foster new employment opportuni