Tag: National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (Nids-Cram)
Humanitarian consequences of COVID-19 and lockdown must be prioritised
South Africa’s headline unemployment rate hit a record high of 34.4% in the second quarter of 2021, up from 32.6% in the first three months of the year as businesses shed staff resulting from the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Interest rates on hold at 3.5%, but committee preferences remain mixed
The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept interest rates steady at 3.5% at the scheduled September 2020 interest rate-setting meeting despite downwardly revised growth and inflation views. This decision tied in with the view of 15 out of the 25 analysts surveyed by Reuters, while we were one of the ten favouring a 25-basis point cut.
