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The BER takes the percentage of respondents that rates prevailing conditions as satisfactory as indicator or proxy of business confidence.
Detailed data on consumer confidence is provided, disaggregated by income, LSM and population groups as well as per province.
The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI™) compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER).
The FNB/BER Civil Confidence Index reflects the state of business conditions in the civil engineering industry.
The FNB/BER Building Confidence Index remained relatively stable in 2026Q1, losing one point to register a level of 42. Sentiment edged lower despite a broad improvement in activity and overall profitability. The important exceptions, however, were residential builders and building material manufacturers.
Read MoreThe FNB/BER Building Confidence Index was unchanged at 40 in 2024Q4. The stable sentiment reading masks a noticeable improvement in conditions among main contractors with respect to activity, employment and overall profitability. However, looking ahead, still weak order books suggest that further growth could be limited.
Read MoreAfter rising to an eight-year high in 2023Q4, the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index fell sharply to 27 in 2024Q1. The decline was broad-based with four of the six sectors recording a fall in sentiment in excess of 20 points. The current level of the index therefore means that more than 70% of respondents are dissatisfied with prevailing business conditions.
Read MoreThe FNB/BER Building Confidence Index, which measures sentiment in the building sector, increased to an eight-year high of 43 (a gain of nine index points) in 2023Q4. The current level of the index means that a little over 55% of respondents are dissatisfied with prevailing business conditions. The better confidence was supported by improved activity, on balance, which also boosted overall profitability.
Read MoreAfter slipping to 28 in 2023Q2, sentiment in the building sector, as measured by the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index, gained six points to register a level of 34 in 2023Q3. The current level of the index means that more than 65% of respondents are dissatisfied with prevailing business conditions. Supporting the uptick in confidence was an improvement in activity, especially among builders. This also lifted overall profitability. In all, the recovery in the building sector, at the very least, maintained its momentum in 2023Q3.
Read MoreThe FNB/BER Building Confidence Index shed five points to register a level of 28 in 2023Q2. A sharp fall in sentiment among building sub-contractors and hardware on retailers weighed heavily on the overall index. This was underpinned by a decline in main contractor activity as well as continued weaker hardware retailer sales. Of additional concern is the broad-based expectation that activity and sales will likely come under further pressure over the short term.
Read MoreAfter slipping by one point in 2022Q4, sentiment in the building construction sector, as measured by the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index, remained at 33 in 2023Q1.
Sentiment in the building construction sector, as measured by the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index, slipped to 33 in 2022Q4, from 34 in 2022Q3.
Building confidence, as measured by the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index, remained unchanged at 34 in 2022Q3.
Building sector confidence, as measured by the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index, declined to 34, from 40 in 2022Q1. By far the biggest drag on confidence was the building material manufacturing sector where confidence fell by 43 index points to only 12. This was partially offset by a 21-point jump in main contractor confidence. On a more positive note, confidence in the “core” building sector (excluding building material manufacturers and hardware retailers) increased to 35, from 31 in 2022Q1.
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