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 »

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 »

On 27 April 1994, over 19 million South Africans of all races voted in the country’s first free and fair non-racial general elections. This milestone in the struggle for equality and human rights ended over three hundred years of racial segregation, colonialism and apartheid. Since 1995, the 27th of April has been celebrated in commemoration   read more »

The Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) results show that number of employees working in businesses increased by 38 thousand – from 8 457 000 in the third quarter of 2013 to 8 495 000 in the fourth quarter. This was driven by an increase of 35 000 in the Trade industry and increases in the Community and social services   read more »

This month women across the globe celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) – a day conceived at the 1910 International Women’s Conference in Denmark. Originally proposed at the 1910 conference by German socialist, Luise Zietz, with the support of fellow German political leader Clara Zetkin, the day was intended to celebrate achievements relating to women’s rights   read more »

The January 2014 statistical release of the Producer Price Index (to be released on 27 February) will show changes to the weights and basket of the indices.  The methodology of the new PPI series that was introduced last year is to update the weights on an annual basis. The PPI has weights at two levels.    read more »

The seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices for the fourth quarter of 2013 increased at an annualised rate of 3,8 per cent. The main contributors to this increase in economic activity were the manufacturing industry (1,8 percentage points) and the mining and quarrying industry (0,8 of a percentage point). The manufacturing   read more »

Before the slump in 2008/09 due to the global recession, manufacturing performed well, recording annual growth rates of 2,9%, 4,6% and 4,2% for 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. The recovery after the recession from 2010 to 2012 was sluggish, and 2013 showed anaemic annual growth of 1,3% to date. Factory output remains far from the   read more »

“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 »