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Government finances: Social spending jumped in 2020/21

Government finances: Social spending jumped in 2020/21

The 254 institutions known as extra-budgetary accounts and funds (EBAs) form an important arm of government. Financial data for 2020/21 (1 April to 31 March) show a sharp rise in EBA spending as government rushed to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Much of the increase was on social benefits, mainly for the COVID-19 Temporary   read more »


Economic recovery from COVID-19: Not all countries are equal

Economic recovery from COVID-19: Not all countries are equal

The South African economy took almost two years to recover from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. How does this compare with other countries? After plummeting in the second quarter of 2020 – when lockdown restrictions were at their most stringent – South African gross domestic product (GDP) clawed itself back to pre-pandemic levels in   read more »


Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q2:2022

MEDIA RELEASE    Embargo: Tuesday 23 August 2022, 11h30 AM Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q2:2022 The official unemployment rate was 33,9% in the second quarter of 2022. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has, today (23 August 2022), issued the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q2: 2022. These results indicate that   read more »


Nearly half of SA women are out of the labour force in Q2:2022

Nearly half of SA women are out of the labour force in Q2:2022

Globally, women who are looking for work and are available to work have a tougher time finding work than men. This phenomenon is more pronounced in South Africa, with higher unemployment rates for the general population as compared to the rest of the world. In 2022, 47,0% of South African women were recorded as economically   read more »


Don’t throw in the towel!

Don’t throw in the towel!

Your chances of finding a job are much higher if you continue your search for employment. Estimates from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released by Statistics South Africa, show that the likelihood of finding employment is much higher if you continue to search for work or are available to take up a job or start   read more »


Tightening municipal statistics: Stats SA’s alignment to mSCOA

Municipal financial systems have been overhauled. Under the new Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts (mSCOA) framework, municipalities have changed the way in which they do their finances. As a result, Stats SA implemented changes to its Quarterly financial statistics of selected municipalities (QFSSM) survey. What is the QFSSM? Not only does Stats SA publish data   read more »


How COVID-19 affected food security in SA

How COVID-19 affected food security in SA

The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious implications for the global economy, with food security and nutrition being particularly impacted. South Africa, like many countries around the world, has not been spared. According to a report released by Statistics South Africa, Measuring Food Security in South Africa: Applying the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, almost 23,6 per   read more »


Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q3:2021

MEDIA RELEASE 30 November 2021 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q3:2021 The official unemployment rate was 34,9% in the third quarter of 2021. The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2021 show that the number of employed persons decreased by 660 000 in the third quarter of   read more »


The South African economy sheds more than half a million jobs in the 3rd quarter of 2021

The South African economy sheds more than half a million jobs in the 3rd quarter of 2021

According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the 3rd quarter of 2021, the number of employed persons declined by 660 000 to 14,3 million compared to the 2nd quarter of 2021. The decline in employment is coupled with a decline in the number of unemployed persons to 7,6 million from 7,8 million, resulting in   read more »


South African labour market is more favourable to men than women

South African labour market is more favourable to men than women

Equal opportunity and equal treatment in the labour market are at the core of decent work. Unfortunately, women in South Africa and around the world still face additional challenges that hinder them from accessing employment. Once they are in employment, appointments to decision-making positions and jobs in certain sectors, or of certain characteristics, remain elusive.   read more »


P0211 - Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS)

This publication contains results of a Quarterly Labour Force Survey first conducted in January 2008, specifically designed to measure the dynamics of the South African labour market, producing indicators such as employment, unemployment and inactivity. It measures a variety of issues related to the labour market, including the official unemployment rate.read more »


P0211.3 - Volunteer activities survey

This publication contains results of a Quarterly Labour Force Survey first conducted in January 2008, specifically designed to measure the dynamics of the South African labour market, producing indicators such as employment, unemployment and inactivity. It measures a variety of issues related to the labour market, including the official unemployment rate.read more »


P0211.4.4 - National and provincial labour market: Long-term unemployment

National and provincial labour market: Long-term unemploymentread more »


Report-03-10-08 - The South African MPI: Creating a multidimensional poverty index using census data

The main purpose of this report is the provision of poverty maps and poverty data at provincial and municipal level. In so doing, this report details how the South African Multidimensional Poverty Index (SAMPI) was conceptualised and constructed using data collected by Stats SA through Census 2001 and 2011. The SAMPI, based on the Alkire-Foster method, provides another tool in Stats SA`s ongoing efforts to measure poverty and deprivation in the country. The SAMPI was born out of the desire to develop a new product that could build onto the work started with the development of the Provincial Indices of Multiple Deprivation (PIMD) after Census 2001. Unlike the PIMD, the SAMPI has the advantage of being fully decomposable by demographic and geographic variables; this shows not only in what aspects the poor are deprived, but also reveals the interconnections among those deprivations. read more »


P0211.4.1 - National and provincial labour market: Dynamics

The national labour market results mask variations at provincial level which can often be quite large. The nine provinces differ in population size, land mass, demographic profile, and economic structure. This report is the second in a quarterly series which will be released when the QLFS results are reported. The aim is to provide users with an analysis of various aspects of the South African labour market at provincial level, based on current labour market information. The analysis in this report is based solely on the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) conducted in the third and fourth quarters of 2012 (Q3: QLFS) and (Q4: QLFS). The data have been revised to reflect the new population benchmarks from the population census of 2011 read more »


Tsolwana

Tsolwana Local Municipality has two main urban centres, Tarkastad and Hofmeyr, and about 11 rural villages scattered within the former Ntabethemba area, including Thornhill, Mitford, Rocklands, Tendergate, etc.  Tsolwana covers an area of approximately 6 000 square km in extent with a density of about six people per square km. The extent of local area of jurisdiction translates to 4,2% of the district as a whole.

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Lukhanji

Lukhanji is a category B municipality situated within the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape. It is made up of a combination of the greater Queenstown and surrounding farms and villages, Ilinge, Hewu/Whittlesea and Ntabethemba. Lukhanji is landlocked by the municipalities of Tsolwana and Inkwanca to the west, Emalahleni and Intsika Yethu to the north, and Amahlathi to the east. Lukhanji occupies a strategic geographic position within the Chris Hani District Municipality and covers approximately 4 231 km².

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Intsika Yethu

The Intsika Yethu Local Municipality is a category B municipality. It is one of the eight local municipalities found within the Chris Hani District Municipality.

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Engcobo

Engcobo Local Municipality is located in the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape, the second largest province in terms of land coverage on the south-eastern seaboard of South Africa. Engcobo consists of 20 wards, extends over 2 258,78km² with a population of 155 513, and constitutes 19,6% of the total population of the district, as per the Census 2011 information.

The majority of the population is female (56%).  There are about 66 people per square kilometre.  The population is predominantly black African, followed by an insignificant number of Asians/Indians, coloureds and whites.

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Nyandeni

This municipality is one of the five that make up the O.R. Tambo District Municipality. It comprises two magisterial areas, viz. Libode and Ngqeleni. It has a largely rural/traditional character. It is bordered in the south-west by the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality. In the north, it is bordered by the Mhlontlo Local Municipality and in the east by the Ntabankulu, Ingquza Hill and Port St John Local Municipalities. The population according to Census 2011 is 290 390 people, which is 21,3% of the population of O.R. Tambo District. In 2001, the population was 274 416 people, which constituted 21,2% of the district population.

The municipality covers an area of 4 231 square kilometers, which gives a population density of 68,6 persons per square kilometer. The municipality’s economy is largely dependent on agriculture.

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Work & Labour Force

There are different forms of work, these include work as employment (work to generate income), unpaid work which includes volunteer work and domestic work for own final household consumption. Statistics South Africa measures all forms of work including work which should be abolished like child labour.

Work as employment is measured from two sources, establishment surveys and household based surveys. The Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) is establishment based while The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) is a household based survey. The two sources differ in coverage, scope, unit of measurement and method of collection. Because of these differences, the two sources yield different figures. However, the two sources should be regarded as complementary rather than competitive.

Each source has advantages and limitations in terms of statistics yielded. The QES covers non-agricultural formal sector employment while the QLFS covers total employment in all industries and sectors. The QLFS can also provide information on demographic characteristics of the labour force (employment and unemployment) which the QES cannot provide.

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Unemployment

Employment is a key economic indicator and it is sensitive to the business cycle. For example employment peaked in 2008 to approximately 13,8 million when the economy was better. However, during the recession of 2009 and 2010 approximately 806 000 persons lost their jobs. After these two successive years of decline, employment grew by 204 000 and 258 000 persons in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Community & social services industry contributed the most to the growth in employment observed in the past two years. This was followed by Finance and other business services.read more »