After rebounding by a revised 3,2%1 in the second quarter of 2019, activity in the South African economy slipped slightly in the third quarter. Mining, manufacturing and transport were the biggest drags on growth in gross domestic product (GDP). Mining was down by 6,1%, driven largely by a fall in the production of platinum group   read more »

Stats SA provides a snapshot of working capital across the formal business sector in the latest release of the Annual Financial Statistics (AFS) report. Working capital is a measure of a company’s liquidity and is one of a number of measures that provide insight into a company’s ability to pay off debt. To calculate working   read more »

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South Africa’s unemployment rate increased by 0,1 of a percentage point to 29,1% in Q3 of 2019. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics South Africa, this is the highest unemployment rate since Stats SA started measuring unemployment using the QLFS in 2008. Between Q2: 2019 and Q3: 2019, the number   read more »

The June 2019 Quarterly Employment Survey, released by Statistics South Africa, showed that an estimated 10 172 000 people were employed in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy, which is down by 2 000 from the 10 174 000 recorded in the previous quarter. Full-time employment decreased by 26 000 to 9 103 000, and part-time employment increased by 24 000   read more »

After shrinking sharply in the first quarter of 2019, the economy rebounded from a low base to record positive growth of 3,1%1 in the second quarter (April−June). Mining, finance, trade and government services were the main drivers of growth. Three industries (construction, agriculture and transport) registered a slump in production. Mining was the strongest performer   read more »

MEDIA RELEASE 30 July 2019 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q2:2019 The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2019 released by Statistics South Africa, indicate that the official unemployment rate increased by 1,4 percentage points to 29,0% compared to the first quarter of 2019. The number of   read more »

South Africa was one of the 19 countries participating in the 14th G20 (Group of 20) Summit which was held from 28 to 29 June 2019 in Osaka, Japan. The participants of the G20 Summit were leaders from 19 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of   read more »

In 2015, Stats SA published an article highlighting the contribution that small businesses make to industry turnover in South Africa.1 The March 2019 Quarterly financial statistics (QFS) report provides an update. The entire formal business sector2 generated R2,39 trillion in turnover in Q1: 2019. Out of this amount, large businesses contributed 62%, followed by small (29%) and   read more »

Media Release                                                                                                                                              25 June 2019                          QUARTERLY EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS The results of the Quarterly employment survey (QES) for the first quarter of 2019 released by Statistics South Africa, show an increase of 22   read more »