Mbalo Brief – June 2019
After every five years, the national and provincial elections take place where South Africans elect their preferred President and the five-year-term for cabinet ministers elapses. On 08 May 2019 marked the 5th democratic elections and saw Cyril Ramaphosa being unanimously elected as the president of South Africa. A few days after his swearing in, President read more »
Stats Biz – May 2019
The South African economy slumped sharply in the first three months of 2019, contracting by 3,2%. This is according to Stats SA’s latest gross domestic product (GDP) release. Seven of the ten industries took a knock, with manufacturing, mining and trade the biggest contributors to the fall. The 3,2% decline is the biggest quarterly fall read more »
Economy stumbles in the first quarter
The South African economy slumped sharply in the first three months of 2019, contracting by 3,2%.1 Seven of the ten industries took a knock, with manufacturing, mining and trade the biggest contributors to the fall. Construction, mining and trade are in recession. The 3,2% decline is the biggest quarterly fall in economic activity since the read more »
Pondering #NationalWineDay
25 May is National Wine Day! Here are a few fun facts to muse over if you’re planning to enjoy a glass or three. SA households spend more on wine than on coffee South Africans have clear priorities when it comes to drink. Wine takes up 7,2% of total household expenditure on alcoholic and read more »
Inflation edges slightly lower in April
Annual consumer inflation softened to 4,4% in April 2019 after hitting a three-month high of 4,5% in March 2019. While food inflation remains quite stable, rising petrol prices continue to place pressure on consumers. Inflation has remained within the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) target range of 3–6% for two years (since March 2017). The read more »
The Extent of Food Security in South Africa
Did you know that in 2017, 6,8 million South Africans experienced hunger? While the number has dropped from 13,5 million in 2002, it still affects 1,7 million households across the country. These figures were released in a recent survey, “Towards measuring the extent of food security in South Africa: An examination of hunger and food read more »
Mbalo Brief – May 2019
On 8 May 2019, millions of South Africans braved the cold and wet weather and headed to the polls to cast their votes in the country’s sixth democratic elections. The excitement across the country was so tangible that President Cyril Ramaphosa said the 2019 elections were reminiscent of the country’s first democratic elections in 1994. read more »
Youth graduate unemployment rate increases in Q1: 2019
The youth aged 15–24 years are the most vulnerable in the South African labour market as the unemployment rate among this age group was 55,2% in the 1st quarter of 2019. Among graduates in this age group, the unemployment rate was 31,0% during this period compared to 19,5% in the 4th quarter of 2018 – read more »
Quarterly Labour Force Survey – QLFS Q1:2019
 MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                                                            14 May 2019                   Quarterly Labour Force Survey – QLFS Q1:2019  The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the first quarter of 2019 released by Statistics South Africa, indicate that the official unemployment rate increased by 0,5 of a percentage point to 27,6% compared to the fourth quarter read more »
Mbalo Brief – April 2019
Freedom Day is a public holiday in South Africa celebrated on 27 April each year. On this day in 1994, South Africa had the first national and non-racial elections where South African citizens of voting age of over 18 years from any race group were allowed to vote. Previously, under the apartheid government, non-whites in read more »