The scope and extent of home-based business income relative to employment earnings in financing basic household expenditures:a study in the sub-economic housing area of Kleinvlei in the Cape Metropole

Abstract

The scope and extent of home-based businesses and the determination of the method by which the greater portion of household income is generated, in poor neighbourhoods, is the crux of this study. The study was undertaken among the 2245 households in the Kleinvlei sub-economic housing area located in the Oostenberg municipal substructure within the Cape Metropole. According to the municipal statistics the average income among these households is R75 (Rands 75) per month and the educational level of the population is of a low standard. A random sample of500 households was the basis of the research data. The size, necessity and importance of self-generated (business-derived) income in augmenting primary employment-related (wage-based) earnings is the focus ofthis research study. Declared sources of income are verified by measuring the percentage spent on essential household goods and services. Ancillary objectives are determining the motivation for starting these businesses as well as measuring household wealth (assets) through observations. The significance of this descriptive research is the determination of the relative contribution Of business income and the magnitude of the levels of poverty. It provides the primary data (base information) for policy formulation relating to social and economic development in this sub-economic. The results correlate with findings of national longitudinal studies. The level of job creation through businesses is minimal and the extent of unemployment is much greater than anticipated.