Government celebrates 0.4% growth
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says South Africans should draw inspiration from the 0.4% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2023, which shows that the country is able to make a dent in the economic difficulties it faces.
According to Tuesday’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), in the first three months of 2023 there was an increase of 258,000 – to 16.2 million – in the number of employed people.
Welcoming the growth, the minister said the positive GDP indicators and the recently published Quarterly Labour Force Survey results for the same quarter serve as encouragement that the country is making progress in line with the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.
Stats SA figures show that eight industries recorded growth from January to March 2023, with strong contributions from manufacturing, finance, personal services, transport and trade.
Within the manufacturing sector, food and beverages accounted for the single largest contribution to the growth in economic output in the quarter under review. Increased economic activities were reported for wholesale trade, retail trade and catering and accommodation.
“Today’s growth indicators and the recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey show that while the challenges we face in our economy are serious, we have been able to avoid a downturn in our economic output.
“The gains we have seen across a number of sectors tell us that we are rebuilding our economy and that we must keep working together as a nation to build on the growth we are experiencing. As we do so, we cannot rest on our laurels, but neither can we let hopelessness and pessimism overwhelm our ability to turn things around,” Ntshavheni said.
The minister’s comments ignore that the QLFS saw unemployment in South Africa tick higher.
The official unemployment rate increased by 0.2 of a percentage point from 32.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2023.
The results of the survey indicate that 179,000 jobs were lost between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. The total number of persons unemployed was 7.9 million in Q1 2023.
The country’s GDP figures are also little cause for celebration, economists have warned, as the economic resilience experienced in the first quarter is unlikely to last for the rest of the year.
Critics have also argued that any growth would have come despite the government’s damaging policies, which have done nothing but cripple growth over the last 15 years.
(With SA News)
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