Employment levels at 14 million in Q3: 2013 are now back to the Q4: 2008 peak. The working age population however, has increased by 2,3 million over the period Q4: 2008 to Q3: 2013 such that the percentage of South Africans aged 15-64 years with jobs (the absorption rate) has declined from 45,0% in Q4:   read more »

On 27 April 1994 South Africa cast aside centuries of discrimination and oppression to form a new society built on the foundation of freedom and democracy.  This marked the end of apartheid rule and an introduction of a new Constitutional order, wherein all South Africans work towards a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society.   read more »

The annual inflation rate dipped to 6% in September, from the 6,4% registered in August. Much of the monthly increase of 0,5% came from strong increases in basic necessities such as maize meal, rice, bread and meat. Food prices increased by 0,8% from August to September – the highest monthly increase since January this year.   read more »

FOREWORD Minister Trevor Manuel, the Minister in the Presidency: The National Planning Commission  We are in the home stretch, 2015 is just around the corner and this Millennium Development Goals report, the fifth in a series of reports since the adoption of the MDG‟s in 2000, is critical in understanding and knowing whether we are   read more »

The Statistician-General in the twenty first century paper presented in Ramallah, Palestine to commemorate the 20th  Anniversary of Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics 23-September-2013 I have been invited to discuss the topic on the role of, depending on the nomenclature in countries, the statistician-general, or the chief  statistician or the president or the chairperson of   read more »

Inside this edition: Measuring 10 years of progress 2, The faces behind the figures 2, The South Africa I know, the home I understand 4, How does my  community compare 5, State spending boosts economy 6, Celebrating our heritage 7, Test your knowledge 8

“While many people look forward to a fulfilling old age, more than one in five adults aged 60 and over experience mental or neurological disorders, such as dementia and depression.” These were the words of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2013. Mental health conditions   read more »

Given the vast amount of information appearing in detailed financial statements of companies, it may be difficult to discern significant relationships and trends in the data. One way to address this challenge is to use accounting ratios, which provides substantial insights into the relationships between variables and can indicate certain trends. Accounting ratios are calculated   read more »

Municipalities in Gauteng province are better off in terms of generating their own revenue in the form of services provided to households, while at the same time they are also getting a bigger share of the grants and subsidies received from both national and provincial governments in proportion to the increase in total population.  The   read more »

The Financial statistics of provincial government release reports that compensation of employees increased by R23 798 million from R193 669 million in 2010/2011 to R217 467 million in 2011/2012. This increase was mainly due to increased compensation payments by the KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Eastern Cape provincial governments. Figure 1: Compensation of employees by province: 2011-2012 (Rm, at current prices)   read more »