2013-02-07
The KwaZulu-Natal economy still grew by 1.1%, but the decline in the barometer was driven by a sharp increase in economic stress levels in the province. The KwaZulu-Natal stress index, which reflects factors like inflation, interest rates and unemployment, increased by 3.4% year-on-year , 0.6% month-on-month and 2.3% quarter-on-quarter. Although inflation in KwaZulu-Natal was unchanged at 5.9%, which is higher than the national average, unemployment in the province is on the rise and stands at 23.2%.