IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

Manufacturing production increased by 5,6% year-on-year in July 2015, driven mostly by a 39,6% year-on-year production rise in the automotive industry and a 17,4% year-on-year rise in the metals and machinery industry. It would be tempting to rejoice in response to these pronounced increases, but the figures don’t tell the whole story. These increases do   read more »

South Africa’s economy contracted by 1,3% (seasonally adjusted and annualised) in the second quarter of 2015, according to preliminary estimates of real gross domestic product (GDP) released by Stats SA. The quarter-on-quarter decrease in overall economic activity was characterised by five of the ten main industry groups shrinking in size, while the other five experienced   read more »

Digging a little deeper into the latest consumer price data shows how you can make informed choices about your sweet tooth. If you love to have cake on a regular basis, it might be interesting to know that you are now paying almost 30% more for a cake than you did in June 2010. The   read more »

The March 2015 Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) survey showed that total formal non-agricultural employment decreased by 44 000 jobs from 8 986 000 in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 8 942 000 in the first quarter of 2015.This is a quarterly decrease of 0.5 %. The quarterly decrease was mainly due to decreases reported   read more »

Misinformation and hearsay have the power to influence an economy. Thousands of civil servants resigned from their posts in 2014 and early 2015 in response to rumours about proposed pension reforms. The economic effect was large enough to be seen in recent gross domestic product (GDP) data released by Stats SA. The government services sector   read more »

If you drive a car or enjoy a regular glass of wine, February’s National Budget Speech would have had an impact on your cost of living. The rise in sin taxes and petrol levies announced during the speech influenced prices for alcoholic beverages and petrol, contributing to April’s overall inflation rate of 4,5%. The Minister   read more »

It is often said that an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. A good education is worth its weight in gold, but recent figures released by Stats SA indicate that South African households will have to make more room in their budgets to pay for rising tuition fees. Stats SA updates education inflation figures   read more »

Changing fuel prices affect us all. With the recent downward trend in prices seemingly coming to an end, South Africans are again left wondering how the petrol price will affect their pockets. Consumer inflation data released today1 provide an indication of the impact that the recent period of low petrol prices had on the cost   read more »

Headline producer inflation, which measures the change in prices of final manufactured goods, has continued to decline. The annual rate fell to 3,5% in January 2015, down from 5,8% in December 2014 and a peak of 8,8% in April 2014. Falling prices for coal and petroleum products continued to drive producer inflation down, while higher   read more »

South Africa’s economy grew by 1,5% in 2014, down from 2,2% in 2013, according to preliminary estimates of real gross domestic product (GDP) released by Stats SA. Eight of the ten industry groups experienced some growth during the year, while two industries shrank in size. The industry that grew the fastest in 2014 was agriculture1,   read more »