This is the average take-home salary in South Africa right now
The latest Disposable Salary Index from BankservAfrica shows that take-home pay in the country has increased above the rate of inflation for the sixth consecutive month, with salaries improving by an average of 1.1%, after inflation, compared with August 2016.
However, according to Mike Schüssler, economist at Economists.co.za, the increase recorded by the index is lower than previous months.
This is partly due to slightly higher inflation rates in August, he said, with real sustained increases possibly declining further as inflation is expected to rise in the coming months off the back of higher oil prices.
“Real increases in salaries may have seen their highest respective increases earlier this year with salaries peaking at 2.5%, in July,” he said.
Take-home pay for employees earning less than R100,000 per month averaged R14,106 in nominal terms during August, while pensioners received an average of R6,759 in nominal terms.
This was down slightly from the R14,177 recorded in July.
Real-term disposable salaries remain below the October 2015 high of R14,212 coming in at about R13,895 in August this year. This is owing to high inflation and low salary increases during 2016 to the beginning of 2017, BankservAfrica said.
Real-term salaries were recorded at R14,060 in July 2017.
The median disposable salary as measured within the South African payments system remains above 75% of the average disposable salary for a second consecutive month, which could be an indication of the wage gap narrowing in the formal sector excluding executives, the group said.
The positive growth in the BDSI indicates that the increase in real retail sales and overall consumer spending may be more sustainable compared with last year.
“At least the positive increase for earners will help the economy in the third quarter, although at a slower rate than in the second quarter,” Schüssler said.
Read: The degrees that offer the best starting salary in South Africa
Loading ...