Die ekonomie minuut

Hierdie is die eerste episode van 2022 en ek wil graag vir al die luisteraars ʼn voorspoedige nuwe jaar toewens. Die belangrikste ekonomiese vraagstuk van die jaar is die volgehoue groei van die ekonomie.

This is the first episode of 2022 and I would like to wish all the listeners a prosperous new year. The most important economic issue of the year is the sustained growth of the economy.

2021 was a year that Economics profs will be talking about for some time to come. The economy started to grow again after a 6.4% contraction due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mining and agriculture carried the South African economy and saved the budget. But the growth did not have a broad base, unemployment continued to increase and business confidence remained low. Internationally, inflation has star...

2021 was ʼn jaar waaroor Ekonomie proffies nog baie gaan praat. Die ekonomie het weer begin groei na ʼn 6,4% inkrimping as gevolg van die Covid-19 pandemie. Mynbou en landbou het die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie gedra en die fiskus gered. Maar die groei het nie ʼn breë basis gehad nie, werkloosheid het aanhou styg en sakevertroue bly laag. Internasionaal het inflasie begin styg en rentekoerse volg. Komme...

This week's GDP figures showed that the economy shrank by 1.5% in the third quarter, but if you had listened to RSG Monitor yesterday you would have heard that the economist Roelof Botha disagrees. He argues that the contraction is much smaller and that we need to look at how strongly the economy has grown from the third quarter of last year to now. Is this good news, or is he wrong?

Hierdie week se BBP syfers het aangedui dat die ekonomie in die derde kwartaal met 1,5% gekrimp het, maar as jy gister RSG Monitor geluister het sou jy gehoor het dat die ekonoom Roelof Botha verskil. Hy voer aan dat die inkrimping veel kleiner is en dat ons moet kyk hoe sterk die ekonomie gegroei het vanaf die derde kwartaal van verlede jaar tot nou toe. Is dit goeie nuus, of is hy verkeerd? (Lui...

To talk about yesterday’s GDP numbers, the best place to start is to remind everyone that in 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown caused the economy to shrink by 6.4%. As the waves of infection and lockdowns eased, and we all started working, travelling, and shopping again, economic growth recovered. In the third quarter of 2021 this recovery experienced setbacks that everyone expected to take...

As mens oor gister se BBP syfers wil praat is die beste plek om te begin om almal te herinner dat die Covid-19-pandemie en inperking in 2020 die ekonomie met 6,4% laat krimp het. Namate die golwe van infeksie en inperking verlig het, en ons almal weer begin werk, reis en inkopies doen, het ekonomiese groei herstel. In die derde kwartaal van 2021 het hierdie herstel 'n terugslag beleef. Almal het v...

Later today, the third quarter's GDP figures will be announced. It is Statistics South Africa's measure of the total value of all the final goods and services produced in South Africa in July, August and September. Economists often talk about the impact of events on the economy, but it's harder to predict than we make it sound, and the official data is usually only available months later. The impa...

Later vandag word die derde kwartaal se BBP syfers bekend gemaak. Dit is Statistieke Suid-Afrika se maatstaf van die totale waarde van al die finale goedere en dienste wat in Suid-Afrika vervaardig is in Julie, Augustus en September. Ekonome praat gereeld oor die impak van gebeure op die ekonomie, maar dit is moeiliker om te voorspel as wat ons dit laat klink, en die amptelike data is gewoonlik ma...

This week, data are being released that show how the economy is doing. October's retail sales will be published on Tuesday and on Thursday it is manufacturing and mining production data. The third quarter's gross domestic product will also be announced on Tuesday.

Hier week word data vrygestel wat wys hoe dit met die ekonomie gaan. Dinsdag is dit Oktobermaand se kleinhandelverkope en Donderdag is dit vervaardiging- en mynbouproduksie data. Die derde kwartaal se bruto binnelandse produk word ook Dinsdag bekend gemaak.

Today's Minute concludes the week with a brief overview of the other economic indicators. The fuel price increase made the news, ABSA's Purchasing Managers' Index for November was released and also the Bureau of Economic Research's retail confidence index.

Vandag se Minuut sluit die week af met ʼn kort oorsig oor die ander ekonomiese aanwysers. Die bradstofprysverhoging het die nuus gehaal, ABSA se aankopebestuurdersindeks vir November-maand is bekend gemaak en ook die Buro vir Ekonomiese ondersoek se kleinhandel vertrouensindeks.

I said yesterday that South Africa's unemployment rate is frightening and unsustainable and that it is likely to deteriorate further, but is there any solution at all? The short-term approach is to try to muddle through and see where the business cycle takes us. The other approach is radical reform.

Ek het gister gesê dat Suid-Afrika se werkloosheidskoers is skrikwekkend en onvolhoubaar, en dat dit waarskynlik nog verder gaan versleg, maar is daar enigsins ʼn oplossing? Die korttermyn benadering is om vas te byt en te kyk waarheen die sakesiklus ons vat. Die ander benadering is ingrypende hervorming.

Statistieke Suid-Afrika het gister aangekondig dat die werkloosheidskoers in die derde kwartaal verder toegeneem het en nou op 34,9% staan. Volgens die breë definisie, wat ook ontmoedigde werksoekers insluit, is die werkloosheidskoers 46,6%. Dit is skrikwekkend en onvolhoubaar, en ongelukkig gaan dit waarskynlik nog verder versleg. Daar is ʼn paar redes daarvoor.

Statistics South Africa announced yesterday that the unemployment rate increased further in the third quarter and now stands at 34.9%. According to the broad definition, which also includes discouraged job seekers, the unemployment rate is 46.6%. It's scary and unsustainable, and unfortunately, it's probably going to get worse. There are a few reasons for this.

Statistics South Africa today announces the results of the third quarter labour force survey. This may sound like old news in the face of the Omnicron variant, but these are important figures for a few reasons.

Statistieke Suid-Afrika maak vandag die resultate van die arbeidsmagopname van die derde kwartaal bekend. Dit klink dalk soos ou nuus in die aangesig van die Omnicron variant, maar dit is belangrike syfers vir ʼn paar redes.

Die laaste paar dae se nuus is oorheers deur die Omicron-variant van die coronavirus en grense wat sluit. Gisteraand het President Rhamaphosa die land op vlak-1 inperking gehou en hom sterk uitgespreek teen die reisverbod wat baie lande ingestel het. Maar wat kan die impak van die nuwe variant op die ekonomie wees?

Over the last few days, the news has been dominated by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and the sound of borders closing. Last night, President Rhamaphosa kept the country on lockdown level-1 and spoke out strongly against the travel ban imposed by many countries. But what could be the impact of the new variant on the economy?

Economists like to say that incentives matter and over the past week there have been two examples of carrots and sticks in the news that the government hopes will encourage South Africans to do the right things. The carrot was that the R100 grocery voucher that people over 60 can get if they go for a Covid-19 jab, is being extended to people over 50. The stick is that NSFAS is in consultation to s...

Ekonome sê graag dat insentiewe saak maak en die afgelope week was daar twee voorbeelde van wortels en stokke in die nuus wat die regering hoop om Suid-Afrikaners aan te spoor om die regte dinge te doen. Die wortel was dat die R100 kruideniersware aankoopbewys wat mense bo 60 kan kry as hulle gaan vir ʼn Covid-19 inenting, uitgebrei word na mense bo 50. Die stok is dat NSFAS in konsultasie is om ʼn...

Rand Merchant Bank and the Bureau of Economic Research's announced yesterday that their business confidence index remained unchanged from the third to the fourth quarter, at 43 points. A score below 50 means that CEOs are worried about economic prospects.