The South African trade industry is made up of five divisions: wholesale, motor, accommodation, food and beverages (i.e. restaurants and catering), and retail. Stats SA takes a look at five facts that you might not have known about the retail trade industry.   Fact 1: South Africans spent R31 900 per second in retail stores in   read more »

Perspective matters. A lot. Recent provincial economic data published by Stats SA take on a fresh light when they’re ranked against other countries. Gauteng is South Africa’s economic powerhouse. The province contributed just over a third to South Africa’s economic output in 2016, according to provincial gross domestic product (GDP) figures.1 In runner-up positions were   read more »

Figures from the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) survey showed that South Africa’s formal non-agricultural sector added 81 000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2017, bringing the total number of persons employed in the formal non-agricultural to 9,8 million. The QES also showed formal sector jobs rise by 18 000 in the fourth quarter compared with the   read more »

At the 2018 International Travel Trade Show in Germany held in March 2018, South African Tourism CEO Sisa Ntshona was quoted as stating that tourism is vitally important to the South African economy, and that the sector should be nurtured for sustained and inclusive growth. Recent data from Stats SA show how important tourism actually   read more »

In a time when good news seems hard to come by, the latest gross domestic product (GDP) results provide some cautious cheer. The South African economy grew by 1,3% in 2017, exceeding National Treasury’s expectation of 1,0% growth announced during the National Budget Speech in February. After a wobbly start to 2017, which saw economic   read more »

The 2017 Mining Charter published by government in June has seen its fair share of debate, opening intense discussions on the industry’s future. Outside of this policy debate, Stats SA recently published figures showing how the industry performed in 2016 and 2017. 2016 wasn’t a good year for South African mining. The industry as a   read more »

You’ve got no one to blame except yourself. Admit it. You totally forgot about Valentine’s Day. Now that it’s just around the corner you’ve got to come up with something fast! It was months ago when you and your significant other agreed that it would be your turn this year to do something special. You   read more »

New figures from the QES showed that South Africa’s formal non-agricultural sector shed 31 000 jobs in the third quarter of 2017. With losses of 41 000 in March 2017 and 31 000 in June 2017, this marks the third straight quarter of job losses across South Africa. The job market has experienced notable pressure in the last   read more »

The South African economy grew by 2,0% in the third quarter of 2017 (seasonally adjusted and annualised), down from a revised 2,8% in the second quarter. Agriculture, mining and manufacturing were the main drivers of the expansion, while there was a contraction in general government services resulting from low employment numbers in the public sector.   read more »

“Better lives with better economic statistics.” This is the theme for African Statistics Day 2017, taking place on 18 November. In celebration of this prestigious day, Stats SA explores the archives to find four facts on the South African economy that you might have missed. African Statistics Day was initiated by the United Nations to   read more »