According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES, Q1:2022) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), total employment in the formal non-agricultural sector increased by 42 000 in the first quarter of 2022, bringing the level of total employment to approximately 10,1 million. The survey showed that jobs increased by 200 000 between March 2021 and   read more »

Economically, no country is an island. Just as a household cannot produce all that it needs on its own, South Africa depends on global trade for a range of goods and services. Data from the latest supply and use tables (SUTs) provide insight into those products that are imported, exported, and consumed by households. Explore   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) would like to thank everyone who participated in the Census 2022. As of the 20th of March 2022, more than 12 million households, from an estimated 17,4 million households, had been counted. From the 24th of March 2022, Stats SA commenced with the census mop-up phase. During the mop-up phase, fieldworkers were to visit all   read more »

South Africa has several transformative and progressive policies and legislations aimed at advancing women’s empowerment and gender equality. A review of some indicators suggests that there is an improvement in the quality of life of women over the years. However, women are still faced with adverse health outcomes such as sexually transmitted illnesses, gender-based violence   read more »

On 23 March 2022, it marked exactly two years since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the COVID-19 lockdown (an emergency protocol that requires South Africans to stay at home except for essential purposes) in South Africa for 21 days from 26 March 2020 to 16 April 2020. Although the lockdown was meant to last for only   read more »

  What is poverty and what does it mean to be poor? Does it mean not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter? Does it mean not being able to afford to buy a car or furniture for your home or even go on holiday because your income does not   read more »

Net profit before tax in the formal business sector tumbled by 33,4% in the financial year 2020 compared with 2019, with business services and manufacturing the hardest hit. The data, from Stats SA’s latest Annual financial statistics (AFS) survey1 , which mostly covers the period before the lockdown, show that total net profit before tax   read more »

Note: The original version of this article, published on 1 December 2021, was based on fuel price adjustments announced by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on 29 November. On 1 December, the DMRE made changes to these adjustments. This article was revised on 2 December 2021 to reflect these changes. Fuel prices   read more »

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 »

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions in 2020 impacted the finances of higher education institutions. There was a subdued increase in revenue, stifled by a decline in the collection of tuition fees. Higher education institutions spent less money, largely on the back of lower operational costs. Total revenue increased, but only marginally The amount   read more »