The South African economy grew by 2,0% in the third quarter of 2017 (seasonally adjusted and annualised), down from a revised 2,8% in the second quarter. Agriculture, mining and manufacturing were the main drivers of the expansion, while there was a contraction in general government services resulting from low employment numbers in the public sector.   read more »

“Better lives with better economic statistics.” This is the theme for African Statistics Day 2017, taking place on 18 November. In celebration of this prestigious day, Stats SA explores the archives to find four facts on the South African economy that you might have missed. African Statistics Day was initiated by the United Nations to   read more »

  Media Release                                                                                         28 September 2017   The results of the Quarterly Employment Survey for the second quarter of 2017 released by Statistics South Africa today, show a decline of 34 000 jobs (or -0.4%) to 9 617 000  in the formal non-agricultural sector in the quarter ended in June 2017.  This is a gain   read more »

More bad news looms for job-seekers as the formal non-agricultural sector of the economy reported a decline of 34 000 jobs for the quarter ended June 2017. This is according to the latest Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) report released by Statistics South Africa. The QES data tracks changes in employment at the establishment level, and thus   read more »

Before you plan your next family holiday, you may want to have a look at the latest Domestic Tourism Survey released by Statistics South Africa recently. While the survey shows a decline in the total number of day trips and overnight trips taken within South Africa since 2013, it also reveals how economic stagnation and   read more »

Recent data released by Stats SA show that public-sector capital expenditure has risen over the last five years, from a total of R203 billion in 2012 to R284 billion in 2016; an average rise of 8,7% per year. Over R1,2 trillion was spent during this five-year period. Well-maintained infrastructure facilitates trade, improves connectivity, attracts investment,   read more »

The recent power blackout in Msunduzi municipality again highlights the importance of electricity supply. Large parts of Pietermaritzburg were plunged into darkness for about a week when saboteurs, suspected to be striking workers, disrupted the city’s power grid2. It might be common knowledge that municipalities are involved in power distribution in South Africa, but many   read more »

The answer might surprise you. Stats SA’s recently released Financial census of municipalities report, for 2016, provides in-depth detail on the financial state of South Africa’s municipalities, including levels of debt. How solvent are South African municipalities? To answer that question, we turn to a financial ratio called the debt ratio. The debt ratio is   read more »

With South Africa formally in recession and hoping for some good news, the latest employment figures released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) holds no reprieve. According to the March 2017 Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), an estimated 9 644 000 persons were employed in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy. This reflected   read more »

The results of the Quarterly Employment Survey for the first quarter of 2017 released by Statistics South Africa today, show a decline of 48 000 jobs (or -0.5%) to 9 644 000  in the formal non-agricultural sector in the quarter ended in March 2017.  This is a decline of 58 000 jobs when compared to the same period last   read more »