Category Archives: Economic growth

The economy shrinks in the fourth quarter of 2016

The economy shrinks in the fourth quarter of 2016

A fall in mining and manufacturing production in the final quarter of 2016 pulled South African economic growth into negative territory, according to preliminary figures of gross domestic product (GDP) released by Stats SA. South Africa’s economy contracted by 0,3% quarter-on-quarter (seasonally adjusted and annualised). The mining industry’s 11,5%1 drop in production was the main   read more »


Media advisory: Statistician-General to release Gross domestic product (GDP), Q4 2016

Media advisory                                                                                                                                                                      03 March 2017   Statistician-General to release Gross domestic product (GDP), Q4 2016   The Statistician-General of South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla, will release the Gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the fourth quarter of 2016 at a media briefing to be held on Tuesday, 7 March 2017 in Pretoria.   read more »


A tale of three economies in Africa

A tale of three economies in Africa

One of many comparisons between countries is the size of their economies. In the recent past, a number of people noted that Nigeria had overtaken South Africa as the largest economy on the African continent. Subsequently, articles were written about South Africa being pushed into third place by Egypt, only to regain the silver medal   read more »


Media release:Quarterly Labour Force Survey – QLFS Q4:2016

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                             14 February 2017 The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter of 2016 released by Statistics South Africa today, indicate that employment grew by 235 000 and the number of job seekers declined by 92 000 resulting in slight decline in the unemployment rate by 0,6 of percentage point to   read more »


Media invite:Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the Fourth Quarter (Q4) of 2016

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                         10 February 2016 The Statistician-General of South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla, will release the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2016 at a media briefing to be held on Tuesday, 14 February 2017. The media briefing will be held as follows: Date:  Tuesday, 14 February   read more »


Media Release: New basket and weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                             27 January 2017 New basket and weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI)   There are 412 products and services in the new CPI basket, an increase from 396, which now includes new products such as instant noodles, frozen pizzas and pies, and ready-mixed flour products. Stats SA announced the changes to the   read more »


The new inflation basket: what’s in and what’s out

The new inflation basket: what’s in and what’s out

Stats SA recently announced changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket of goods and services. The changes provide interesting insight into how consumer spending patterns have shifted over the last four years. The basket forms the basis from which the monthly CPI is calculated. There are 412 products and services in the new basket,   read more »


Media invite: Statistician-General to release the Community Survey 2016, Agricultural Households report

  Media advisory                                                                            25 January 2016   The Statistician-General of South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla, will release the   read more »


Appreciating scale: business turnover in R200 notes

Appreciating scale: business turnover in R200 notes

The South African formal business sector generated R2,17 trillion in turnover in the third quarter of 2016. To put this into perspective, imagine if you drew this amount in R200 bills and went about giving away a bill every second. It would take 344 years to get rid of all the bills in this way!   read more »


Media Invite: Living Conditions Survey /New weights CPI basket

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                           17 January 2017   Release of the Living Conditions Survey and the new weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI)   Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) will release the results of the Living Conditions Survey (LCS) 2014/2015 and the new weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Friday, 27 January 2017 at   read more »