Quarterly Employment Statistics, March 2014
Key findings on employment and earnings for the quarter ended March 2014 The number of employees in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy increased from an estimated 8 498 000 employees in December 2013 to an estimated 8 507 000 employees in March 2014. Statistics South Africa released the results of the read more »
Life is somewhat better in the country
More people rely on state coffers as the percentage of individuals that benefited from social grants has increased from 12,7% in 2003 to 30,2% in 2013, and the percentage of households that received at least one grant increased from 29,9% to 45,5%. This is according to the latest results of the General Household Survey (GHS) read more »
Households experience increased access to piped water, but are less satisfied with the service
Although the number and percentage of households in South Africa with access to piped water has increased steadily over the last decade, household satisfaction with the quality of water services has decreased. This is one of the findings from the latest release of Stats SA’s General Household Survey (GHS). Conducted on an annual basis since read more »
Highest inflation in almost five years
Inflation hits 6,6% in May 2014, the highest rate in almost five years (6,8% in July 2009). The monthly increase is a modest 0,2%. The big jump in the annual rate is mainly as a result of a drop of 0,3% in the index in May 2013. This drop was mainly a result of a 73c/l read more »
Mbalo Brief – June 2014
Since 1994, the government of South Africa has focused its attention on youth related matters such as unemployment, HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and personal development, to commemorate the anniversary of the 16 June 1976 uprising. As this year (2014) marks the 38th year of the Youth Day anniversary, government will educate the youth about their history read more »
Media Advisory: General Household Survey (GHS) 2013
6 June 2014 General Household Survey (GHS) 2013 Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) will release the results of the General Household Survey (GHS) 2013, which will outline findings on multiple facets of the living conditions of South African households, as well as the quality of service delivery in a number of key service sectors. The read more »
National and provincial labour market: Youth Q1: 2008 to Q1: 2014
The unemployment rate among youth increased from 32,7% to 36,1% between 2008 and 2014; in the post recessionary period, the unemployment rate has been consistently higher among youth than among adults by more than 20 percentage points. The report released by Statistics South Africa examines in detail various aspects of the situation faced by youth read more »
First quarter GDP down
The seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices for the first quarter of 2014 decreased by an annualised rate of 0,6 percent. The main contributors to this decrease in economic activity were the mining and quarrying industry (-1,3 percentage points) and the manufacturing industry (-0,7 of a percentage point). The mining and read more »
Real gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices decreased by 0,6 per cent during the first quarter of 2014
The seasonally adjusted real GDP at market prices for the first quarter of 2014 decreased by an annualised rate of 0,6 per cent compared with an increase of 3,8 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2013. The main contributors to the decrease in economic activity in the first quarter of 2014 were the mining read more »
Inflation at 6,1%, outside the SARB inflation target range
The headline inflation rate continues to increase, printing at 6,1% in April with a 0,5% monthly increase. The big driver of the monthly increase is food and non-alcoholic beverages prices which registered a monthly increase of 1,3%. Within food, meat (2,0% month-on-month), and particularly beef (4,2% m/m) prices have accelerated. Maize, which is another heavily read more »