In a recession-defying development, there has been a rise in the number of people running informal businesses over the past four years, according to Statistics SA.
Findings of the 2013 Survey of Employers and the Self-employed (Sese) released by statistician general Pali Lehohla reveal that the number of persons running informal businesses declined from 2.3 million in 2001 to 1.1 million in 2009, and increased to 1.5 million in 2013.
Sese found that the informaql business sector is dominated by black Africans, men, and the less well-educated. Furthermore, it found that 6.3% of working age people in Limpopo were involved in small businesses.In Mpumalanga the figure was 6.1%, in Gauteng 5% and in KwaZulu-Natal 4.7%.
A way of income