Stats SA might not have the numbers to get crunching
Loss of key technical staff could hamper Stats SA’s ability to do its work, says statistician-general
Stats SA continues to lose key technical staff at a rate faster than it is able to replace them, which could hamper the organisation's ability to do its work, statistician-general Risenga Maluleke warns. The vacancy rate at the country's national statistical service has worsened since March. It now stands at 15%. According to Stats SA's annual report for 2017/2018, by the financial year-end in March the vacancy rate was 13.9%. "In the last 12 months alone we have lost more than 170 staff members, some of them in critical positions," Maluleke told Business Times on Tuesday after the release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the third quarter of 2018. The survey found that SA's unemployment rate had widened to 27.5% from 27.2% previously. Vacancies are for key posts such as those held by methodologists and technical staff in population and social statistics, and economics. "If we don't get the funding, certainly there are serious challenges. It means that not only are our popul...
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