PODCAST | SA’s GDP numbers unpacked

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Thanda Sithole, a senior economist at FNB.

Looking at GDP data for the second quarter, Sithole says real GDP — not seasonally adjusted — grew 19.3% year on year, reflecting 2020’s lower base when the economy plunged by R191.8bn year on year in the second quarter. That was mainly due to the nationwide lockdown that the government implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

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Sithole says the level of real GDP is still down by 0.7% compared to the same non-pandemic period in 2019, reflecting continued and entrenched economic slack.

He explains how the economy has performed compared with last year and before the pandemic as a way to give a more accurate reflection of where the SA economy stands, as well as the inclusion of vaccination efforts as part of the economic modelling that is now being done.

Topics of discussion include: GDP growth through 2021; what has been driving the economy; sectors that are yet to recover; the recent change in GDP calculations by Stats SA;  and the current state of employment in SA.

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