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 »

During the final two weeks of Level 5 lockdown, almost half of the businesses responding to our impact survey indicated that they had temporarily ceased trading. During Level 4, this fell to one-fifth, according to a follow-up survey. Other indicators from the Level 4 survey show a similar pattern as the economy returns to full   read more »

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                                             read more »

It’s fascinating to think that one of the earliest experiments in free trade happened right here in southern Africa. Exactly 110 years ago this month, the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) was born. We explore data showing how the region depends on the oldest surviving trading bloc in the world. On 31 May 1910, South   read more »

The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the first quarter of 2020 indicate that employment decreased by 38 000 to 16,4 million and the number of unemployed persons increased by 344 000 to 7,1 million. As a result, the official unemployment rate increased by 1 percentage point to (30,1%) compared to the fourth quarter   read more »

Annual CPI inflation for April reflects the impact of the first month of the COVID-19 lockdown. The rate dropped to 3,0% in April from 4,1% in March, the lowest reading since June 2005 when the rate was 2,8%. Consumer inflation is now at the bottom of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) target range of   read more »

Media Release                                                                                                                                         9 June 2020                                                                read more »

Media Release                                                                                                                                             20 May 2020                                                      8,1% of respondents lost jobs or had to close businesses 8,1% of respondents reported that they lost their jobs or had to close their businesses   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has embarked on a series of three online web-based surveys to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals in the country to assist government and other stakeholders in their response to the crisis. The second round of the survey (Wave 2) focused on employment, income and hunger-related issues   read more »

The prices of essential products decreased by 0,5% during the COVID‑19 Level 5 lockdown in April. The index increased in the first week of April but then dropped in each of the three successive weeks. The change in the week 23‒30 April was -0,7%. This is the final report of the weekly essential products price   read more »