The week of 9 to 15 November is built around Tuesday. That is when Stats SA releases its third-quarter Quarterly Labour Force Survey and, according to a bank calendar, September manufacturing output, followed by mining and gold production on Thursday. The Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision falls on 19 November, the Thursday after, so these releases are the last major local data points before it.
This preview lists dates we could check against a primary source, flags those we could only find in one place, and gives the previous readings so you can judge any surprise on the day. It is not a forecast of our own.
Tuesday brings the quarter’s unemployment rate and September factory output
Stats SA’s media advisory of 5 November says the survey for the third quarter of 2026 will be presented at a briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday 10 November, with the embargo lifting at 11:00. Stats SA’s own site blocked our automated access with a security check, which we did not bypass, so we read the advisory text through a search summary, and it should be checked on the site.
The last reading to compare against is the second quarter. Stats SA reported the official unemployment rate at 33.6%, up from 32.7% in the first quarter, and youth unemployment at 47.4%. The bank economists at Nedbank, in their Weekly Monitor of 6 November, list 8.48 million unemployed people as the prior figure and say they expect a modest deterioration in the rate. They cite higher oil and fuel prices raising costs for firms and making them more cautious about hiring. That is Nedbank’s view and not a data point.
The same calendar lists September manufacturing production on 10 November. The prior readings were a fall of 3.1% month on month and 4.3% year on year in August. Nedbank expects a shallower year-on-year decline of 2.4%. The Absa purchasing managers’ index, which we covered in our report that factory sentiment stayed in contraction, was 49.6 in October, still under the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
Mining and gold output follow on Thursday
The Nedbank calendar puts mining and gold production for September on 12 November. We found this date in only that one place, so treat it as likely and not confirmed. The prior readings were a 12.7% year-on-year fall in mining output and a 5.7% fall in gold. Nedbank forecasts a 7% decline in mining for September.
The release matters because precious metals are carrying export earnings. Our report on the September trade surplus of R19.8 billion shows exports of precious metals and stones rising 21% on the month, so weak volumes would sit awkwardly beside strong prices. Nedbank’s note puts gold up 5.5% and platinum up 6% on the week to Friday.
The Reserve Bank decides the week after
The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee page lists 19 November 2026 as its next announcement. The repo rate is 7.25% after the 25 basis point increase on 23 September, which we reported in our story on the hike to 7.25%. Economists are split on what happens next, as we set out in our piece on expectations of a November hike. The labour and production numbers this week will feed that debate, but the Bank has said it will decide meeting by meeting.
The Nedbank calendar also lists South Africa’s October gold and foreign exchange reserves for Monday 9 November. The prior readings were net reserves of $72.3 billion and gross reserves of $75.4 billion.
One JSE company has already told investors what to expect
The JSE calendars we checked did not agree with each other, so we list only a company with a SENS date. Purple Group published a trading statement on 6 November for the year to 31 August 2026. It expects headline earnings per share of 5.26 to 5.69 cents, against 4.30 cents a year earlier, an increase of 22.3% to 32.3%. Basic earnings per share are expected at 5.37 to 5.80 cents, up 24.9% to 34.9%. The company says the figures have not been reviewed by its auditors, and that audited results are expected on or about 11 November.
Other calendars we saw list interim results this week for Vodacom, Raubex, Premier and Power, but they disagree on whether those fall on Monday or Tuesday, and we have not seen a SENS announcement confirming any of them. Check the company announcement before relying on a date.
Global releases will move the rand and the JSE
Nedbank’s calendar lists United States consumer price inflation for October on 10 November, with headline expected to stay at 3.7% and core at 2.6%. China releases consumer and producer prices on 9 November and trade data on 10 November. UK third-quarter growth is due on 12 November and the euro area’s flash estimate on 13 November.
The starting point is firm. Nedbank reports the rand at R16.47 to the dollar on Friday, from R16.71 a week earlier, and the JSE All Share Index up 5.26% on the week to 113,286, helped by higher precious metals prices. Brent crude was around $99.32 a barrel, down from $117.55 a week earlier. The bank’s note says these moves came as the dollar weakened after the United States mid-term elections, and that Thursday’s tech selloff pulled global risk appetite back.
What this means for businesses and households
For employers, the unemployment figure and the manufacturing numbers are the best read this month on whether fuel costs are biting into hiring. For anyone with a prime-linked loan, the week is a rehearsal for 19 November, because the Bank’s interest rate decision follows days later. The Bank has pointed to fuel-driven inflation as its main risk, so a labour reading alone is unlikely to settle the question, and the direction of the oil price matters as much.
What is not confirmed
We could not open Stats SA’s release calendar directly, so the 12 November mining date rests on Nedbank alone. Release times other than the 11:00 start of the labour briefing are not confirmed. The JSE results dates beyond Purple Group are unverified, and Nedbank’s forecasts are its own and may differ from the median of other economists.
