The land under our feet is, in several senses, living. Alive in terms of the organisms that support healthy soils to cultivate crops. Active in terms of abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) factors that interact with each other to create distinct ecological systems. Malleable in terms of the changes that humans bring about. Digital snapshots   read more »

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                                     12 November 2020                                                                   Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) – Q3:2020 The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2020 indicate large movements out of the “other not economically active” category to “employed” and “unemployed” between quarter 2 and quarter 3 2020. The number of employed   read more »

The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2020 indicate that the number of employed persons decreased by 2,2 million to 14,1 million compared to the first quarter of 2020. This unprecedented change is the largest quarter one to quarter two decline since the survey began in 2008. Contrary   read more »

The punch in the gut was severe. Perhaps the second quarter of 2020 will become known as the pandemic quarter. South Africa’s economy suffered a significant contraction during April, May and June, when the country operated under widespread lockdown restrictions in response to COVID-19. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by just over 16% between the   read more »

The South African economy recorded its third consecutive quarter of economic decline, falling by 2,0% (seasonally adjusted and annualised) in the first quarter of 2020.1 This followed a contraction of -1,4% and -0,8% in the fourth and third quarters of 2019, respectively. The results presented here cover the period 1 January 2020 to 31 March   read more »

The second wave of Stats SA’s COVID-19 business impact survey provides an update on how South African businesses are currently faring under lockdown. The first impact survey covered the period 30 March to 13 April 2020, and the results were published on 21 April.1 The survey asked firms in the formal sector how the COVID-19   read more »

Farmers sold over a billion chickens in 2017. This is one of many interesting facts to emerge from Stats SA’s latest set of reports on the Census of Commercial Agriculture. The beauty of the data that it allows researchers to drill down and explore patterns across districts and local municipalities. Explore commercial agriculture, as well   read more »

Press statement                                                                                               Embargo: Tuesday 3 March 2020, 11:30 GDP in the fourth quarter of 2019 decreased by 1,4% Gross domestic product (measured by production) South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 1,4% in the fourth quarter of 2019.1 The transport, storage and communication industry   read more »

The South African economy contracted by 1,4% in the fourth quarter of 2019, following a contraction of 0,8% (revised) in the third quarter.1 Transport and trade were the main drags on overall activity, according to the latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures. Seven of the ten industries contracted in the fourth quarter. Finance, mining and   read more »

How much do South Africans pay for groceries? Stats SA has released a list with prices of 191 popular retail items with data going back to 2017. The list holds some surprises. Pulled from that list, each item in the graphic below has its own unique story. The national average price of a loaf of   read more »