Companies still going bust

Statistics South Africa released the latest data on liquidations and insolvencies for August 2009. The figures show that there has been an increase in liquidations comparing the first eight months of 2008 to the first eight months of 2009 of 29.7% with 2643 entities being liquidated. However August 2009 compared to August 2008 showed a drop of 7.4% in liquidations with 264 entities going bust. So what does this mean?

• Economy still in doldrums
• Pressure may be easing
• Insolvencies easing

Insolvency data contained in the report is to July 2009 and shows a decrease in the number of recorded insolvencies. Comparing July 2008 to July 2009 showed a decrease of 51.8%, and comparing the first seven months of 2008 to the same period in 2009 showed a decrease in insolvencies of 17.2%. This shows that the cash and credit crisis may be easing up somewhat. The economy is still technically in a recession but there seems to be a little bit less pressure now.

These data give an indication of how hard real companies are finding it out there in the economy at large. Everyone has anecdotal evidence of the recession but these figures show it may not be as bad as it could be. However there are still problems and more companies are being liquidated. If companies are finding it hard to stay afloat you can at least make sure that your personal finances also keep their head above water. Plan a budget and stick to it, cut back your expenditure and put more into savings.