S&P downgrade could cost jobs
At least 200 000 jobs could be lost if ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) decides to downgrade the economy to junk status next month.
This according to Standard Bank Group Chief Economist Goolam Ballim who briefed media in Rosebank on the implications of a downgrade for ordinary South Africans.
Earlier this month Moody's confirmed South Africa's credit rating at Baa 2 and adjusted the outlook from stable to negative.
Ballim said history has shown that S&P is likely to not be as forgiving, having downgraded 5 of 6 counties in the past couple of years.
He added that a downgrade by S&P was likely to have a devastating effect on the poor.
"The downgrades of investment, in our view, will likely trip another 200 000 jobs within the formal economy and on the assumption that each formal job carries at least three dependants, it suggests that another 600 000 lives will be blighted," Ballim said.