I do not recall a time, at least in my working life, when we were told that the economy had gone into a recession, and then spending months agonising about what all this meant for South Africans, only to be told that, actually, we never had two quarters of negative growth. This week, Stats SA announced its 2017 fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) numbers, which showed growth of 3.1%, thanks to the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries, which increased by 37.5% and contributed 0.8 of a percentage point to the number. All in all, it turned out that the economy grew by 1.3% last year. The last quarter of 2016 was revised from a contraction to growth of 0.4%. This meant that the contraction of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2017 was not a second consecutive quarter of contraction, and therefore we were technically not in a recession. While this may make us feel better, it is not of real consequence. The reason for that is population growth.What really matters when measuring...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.