The March 2015 Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) survey showed that total formal non-agricultural employment decreased by 44 000 jobs from 8 986 000 in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 8 942 000 in the first quarter of 2015. This is a quarterly decrease of 0.5 %. The quarterly decrease was mainly due to decreases   read more »

Employee-related costs of municipalities rose from R61,2 billion in 2012/13 to R68,4 billion in 2013/14, an rise of 11,6%. This is one of the findings from the latest Financial census of municipalities report published by Stats SA. Metropolitan municipalities contributed 57,3% (R39 billion) of total municipal employee related costs in 2013/14. Local municipalities contributed 34,6%   read more »

Approximately 9% (or R101 billion) of total national government expenditure for the 2013/14 financial year was on interest on state debt. This is one of the findings from Stats SA’s latest Financial statistics of national government report. Using financial data from 41 government departments, the report measures national government spending, broken down by function (e.g.   read more »

The great book says it all in Matthew 26-11 that “The poor you will always have with you but you will not always have me”. And in Matthew 19-24 the great book says ‘Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who   read more »

In April 2015 the acting CEO of Eskom suggested that in order to improve Eskom’s financial situation, that the utility bypass municipalities and supply all customers directly with electricity. How would municipalities be affected if this proposal is adopted? Acting as middle-men, municipalities buy electricity from Eskom in bulk and then re-sell the power to   read more »

The percentage of households in South Africa without access to an improved source of sanitation has decreased consistently over the past decade. The latest General Household Survey (GHS) found that the percentage of households with access to improved sanitation, that is flush toilets or pit toilets with ventilation pipes, has increased consistently from 62,3% in   read more »

Misinformation and hearsay have the power to influence an economy. Thousands of civil servants resigned from their posts in 2014 and early 2015 in response to rumours about proposed pension reforms. The economic effect was large enough to be seen in recent gross domestic product (GDP) data released by Stats SA. The government services sector   read more »

If you drive a car or enjoy a regular glass of wine, February’s National Budget Speech would have had an impact on your cost of living. The rise in sin taxes and petrol levies announced during the speech influenced prices for alcoholic beverages and petrol, contributing to April’s overall inflation rate of 4,5%. The Minister   read more »

18 May 2015 The release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) publication for the first quarter of 2015 will be postponed to the 26th of May 2015. The release is postponed determine the impact of the implementation of a new master sample, based on the 2011 Census, on the QLFS series. The first quarter   read more »

The 132,2% year-on-year rise in platinum group metal (PGM) production in March 2015 pushed overall mining production up by 18,8%, the second highest year-on-year increase since January 1980. It would be tempting to celebrate in response to the pronounced rise in PGM production, but a closer look at the data tells a more sober story.   read more »