Trends on the hours worked of the employed, 1997 - 2011
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP15/2012Publication date: 2012
Author(s):
[protected email address] (Research Department, South African Reserve Bank)
This paper analyses trends in hours worked from South African household survey data for the period 1997 – 2011. The purpose of the paper is fourfold. First, the paper provides an overview on the trends in hours worked of formal sector employees, by various demographic and work characteristics. Second, the paper aims to establish how mean hours worked corresponded to the business cycle and third, the reliability of the Statistics South Africa hours worked data is assessed by comparing it with the data on hours working in the manufacturing sector by the Bureau of Economic Research (BER). Last, the newly derived hours worked variables are evaluated in terms of their usefulness as leading indicators, and how they can be used in productivity studies in the South African macroeconomic environment.
JEL Classification:E32, J00
Keywords:Work hours, Business cycles, Formal sector employees, Manufacturing industry, South Africa
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Monday 28 July 202512:00-13:00
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6 Jun 2025 SA GDP barely expands in Q1, while BCI and PMI suggest that Q2 remained weakIt was a busy week for local data releases, much of which painted a bleak picture of SA’s economy. Not only was first-quarter GDP growth dismal, but 2024 growth was also revised lower to just 0.5%. , The RMB/BER Business Confidence Index (BCI) showed sentiment remained shaky in the second quarter...
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