The Minister gave an overview of the progress made during the period October 2010 to December 2012. In terms of jobs, it was indicated that there had been an increase of 603 000 jobs and women's jobs had increased to 283 400. African exports and trade with other African economies had directly generated 25 000 jobs and there was a labour intensity growth from 0.8% to 0.9%. The biggest job gains were recorded in Gauteng, Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal. The ratio of employed to dependents declined from 2.86% to 2.77%. It was also indicated that South Africa was now a member of Brazil Russia, India, and China (BRICS) block.