South Africa’s economy demonstrated resilience and growth in 2024, with total industry turnover climbing to R15.7-trillion, a 5.5% increase from the previous year’s revised estimate of R14.9-trillion.
The Annual Financial Statistics (AFS) report released by Statistics South Africa on Thursday reveals a significant 12.3% surge in employment costs, signalling robust job market health and rising incomes across most sectors.
The report, which surveyed eight industries but excluded agriculture, hunting, financial intermediation, insurance, pension funding and general government, noted growth in turnover, suggesting a recovering, if not diversifying, economy.
The community, social, and personal services sector – typically social security – was the standout performer, recording a staggering 31.2% increase in turnover.
It was followed by strong growth in electricity, gas and water supply (+19%), construction (+15.9%) and transport, storage and communication (+8.3%).
The only sector to contract was mining and quarrying, which saw a 2.1% decline in turnover.
Crucially, the report points to a healthier labour market, though this obviously includes salary increases. Total employment costs rose to R1.86-trillion in 2024, up R202-billion from 2023.
This double-digit growth was led by the construction sector, where employment costs rose by 20.5%.
Significant increases were also seen in mining and quarrying (+19.2%), community, social and personal services (+16.2%), and business services (+15.9%).
Even the manufacturing sector, which saw a more modest turnover growth of 4.4%, reported a 3.9% rise in employment costs.
Further underpinning the positive economic outlook is a sharp rise in capital investment. Capital expenditure on property, plant, equipment and intangible assets grew by 17.9% to R775-billion.
This indicates that businesses are confident enough in the future to commit to long-term investments, which is essential for sustained economic growth and job creation.
The electricity, gas and water supply sector led this investment charge with a remarkable 49.7% increase in capital expenditure.
Other notable increases were seen in forestry and fishing (+41.1%), transport, storage and communication (+37%), and construction (+23.2%). Only the trade sector reported a decrease in capital investment.
The data paints a picture of an economy on the upswing. Rising turnover across industries reflects growing business activity and consumer demand.
The concurrent and substantial growth in employment costs strongly suggests that this is translating into tangible benefits for the workforce.
Combined with a surge in business investment, the 2024 Annual Financial Statistics provide compelling evidence that the economy is not only expanding but is doing so in a way that fosters job market improvement and future productive capacity.
