Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES), first quarter 2016   According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) for the first quarter of 2016 released by Statistics South Africa today, employment in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy decreased by 0,2% (15 000 employees) to 9 273 000 in the first quarter of 2016, compared   read more »

9 May 2016   Unemployment increased in the first quarter of 2016 Employment declined by 2,2% or 355 000 in Q1: 2016, which combined with an increase in the number of unemployed persons of 521 000 resulted in an unemployment rate of 26,7%; this was 2,2 percentage points higher compared to that reported in Q4: 2015. However,   read more »

Media Release                                                                                                                                                                    20 April 2016   GHS Series Volume VII: Housing from a human settlement perspective In-depth analysis of General Household Survey (2002-2014) and Census (1996-2011) data   The number of households living in formal dwellings across the country has increased from 76% in 2002 to 80% 2014 which signifies that the   read more »

Finding a home in a big pond It is often said that small businesses hold the key to economic growth. Recently released data paint an interesting picture of where small businesses are making a substantial contribution to economic activity. Stats SA’s latest Quarterly financial statistics reports that the private sector earned a total of R2,1   read more »

23 March 2016 Media Release QUARTERLY EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS   Employment There was an estimated 8 992 000 jobs reported in the formal non-agricultural sector in December 2015. This was an increase of 43 000 employees or +0,5% quarter to quarter and an increase of 6 000 employees or +0,1% year on year.   Quarterly employment gains   read more »

The economics of Christmas: disrupting the normal You are looking for a Christmas gift for Aunt Edna. As you browse the aisles, you think of how much you are looking forward to the trip down to the coast. December is an unusual time for the country economically. Monthly statistics on the economy clearly show how   read more »

How did South Africa’s major minerals do last year? With mining recently under the spotlight, Stats SA’s latest Mining: Production and sales release provides an overview of mining performance in 2015. The mining industry performed better in 2015 than it did in 2014. Annual mining production was up by 3,5% in 2015, following a drop   read more »

South Africa’s economy grew by 1,3% in 2015, down from 1,5% in 2014 and 2,2% in 2013, according to preliminary estimates of real gross domestic product (GDP) published by Stats SA. Overall economic growth in 2015 was characterised by two of the main industry groups shrinking in size, while the other eight experienced some growth.   read more »

Much has been said about the importance of tourism, particularly of its role in economic growth, employment and attracting foreign exchange. The latest Tourism Satellite Account for South Africa report provides indicators of tourism’s role in these three spheres. Time series for much of the data are now available (10 years).   Tourism as a   read more »

The September 2015 Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) survey showed that an estimated 8 951 000 persons were employed in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy. This reflected a quarterly increase of 7 000 employees (+0,1%) between June 2015 and September 2015 and an annual increase of 4 000 employees (0,0%) between September   read more »