The formal business sector, excluding agriculture and banking, generated R2,34 trillion in income during the first quarter of 2017, for the months of January, February and March. On average, that’s R300 560 of income generated every second over that 90-day period. You might be thinking that’s quite a hefty amount. You might catch yourself imagining the   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 »

In this month of June, South Africans commemorate the 1976 June 16 uprising when more than 15 000 students in Soweto took to the streets to march against the Bantu education policies. Every year, June 16 is National Youth Day and is declared a public holiday. Although the youth of 1976 fought against unequal education   read more »

  Press statement                         Embargo: Tuesday 6 June 2017, 11:30   GDP in the first quarter of 2017 contracted by 0,7%   Gross domestic product (measured by production)   South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was -0,7% in the first quarter of 2017.1 The largest negative contributor to growth in GDP in the first   read more »

The South African economy moved into recession with the reported decrease of 0,7% in GDP during the first quarter of 2017, following a 0,3% contraction in the fourth quarter of 2016. Using the widely accepted measure of ‘recession’ as two (or more) consecutive quarters of negative growth (real GDP quarter-on-quarter), this means that South Africa   read more »

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                                           1 June 2017                      Quarterly Labour Force Survey – QLFS Q1:2017 The growth in employment by 144 000, was offset by the growth in the number of job-seekers by 433 000   read more »

Stats SA publishes estimates of GDP every quarter. It is one of the most anticipated statistical releases on the calendar as it captures the dynamics of the economy in a single number. The key number is expressed as the seasonally adjusted annualised growth between two consecutive quarters, based on GDP in real terms (i.e. volume)1.   read more »

It might be surprising to learn that the ICT sector is larger than the agriculture industry. This is one of the findings from Stats SA’s latest Information and communication technology satellite account for South Africa report. The document covers ICT’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP), its role in imports and exports, and its   read more »

Kathu has a story to tell. Located in the rural expanse of the Northern Cape, this small town owes its existence almost entirely to iron ore. The streets, the businesses that line them, and the eleven thousand people that call Kathu home, all draw their economic lifeblood from Sishen, one of the largest open-pit mines   read more »