Monthly Archives: May 2015

Households report increased access to basic services as satisfaction with some services decline.

The percentage of households in South Africa without access to an improved source of sanitation has decreased consistently over the past decade. The latest General Household Survey (GHS) found that the percentage of households with access to improved sanitation, that is flush toilets or pit toilets with ventilation pipes, has increased consistently from 62,3% in   read more »


A rumour wobbles an industry

A rumour wobbles an industry

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 »


Drink and diesel: The Budget Speech and consumer inflation

Drink and diesel: The Budget Speech and consumer inflation

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 »


Postponement of the Q1: 2015 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) release

18 May 2015 The release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) publication for the first quarter of 2015 will be postponed to the 26th of May 2015. The release is postponed determine the impact of the implementation of a new master sample, based on the 2011 Census, on the QLFS series. The first quarter   read more »


Mbalo Brief – May 2015

South Africa is a country bubbling with talented, creative, innovative and ambitious young people. Although most people see age (youth) as a barrier towards achieving their dreams, some have succeeded in breaking this mind-set especially in fields such as in manufacturing, technology, arts and culture, financial services and agriculture. Some of the examples of people   read more »


Don’t let platinum’s recent rise fool you

Don’t let platinum’s recent rise fool you

The 132,2% year-on-year rise in platinum group metal (PGM) production in March 2015 pushed overall mining production up by 18,8%, the second highest year-on-year increase since January 1980. It would be tempting to celebrate in response to the pronounced rise in PGM production, but a closer look at the data tells a more sober story.   read more »


Media briefing on Statistics South Africa Budget Vote 2015/16

Honourable Minister Jeff Radebe: Media briefing on Statistics South Africa Budget Vote 2015/16   Good day ladies and gentlemen and members of the media Later today I will present the budget vote speech for Statistic South Africa (Stats SA), and the task ahead is a mammoth one. We will outline what needs to be done   read more »


POSTPONEMENT OF THE Q1: 2015 QUARTERLY LABOUR FORCE SURVEY (QLFS) RELEASE

4 May 2015 The release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) publication for the 1st quarter of 2015 will be postponed to the 19th of May 2015.  The release is postponed to facilitate further quality assurance of the data. Ends   Issued by Statistics South Africa   For technical enquiries contact Durieux Monet Acting   read more »