This is what the average employee is earning in South Africa right now
Stats SA has published its latest Quarterly Employment Survey for the second quarter of 2026, recording a 4.1% increase in the average salary in the country.
According to Stats SA, average monthly earnings paid to employees increased by 2.6% quarter-on-quarter, from R29,825 in February 2026 to R30,611 in May 2026.
Year-on-year average monthly earnings paid to employees increased by 4.1% from R29,402 recorded in May 2025.
The earnings reflect the average paid to the formal, non-agricultural sector, covering eight broad industries.
Notably, the 4.1% year-on-year increase in salaries is lower than the inflation recorded in May (4.5%), meaning earnings are not currently keeping up with the rising cost of living.
However, this is not across the board. Some sectors are faring better than others.
The construction sector is suffering the most, recording only 1.7% year-on-year earnings growth. This is followed by business services (+2.1%), trade (+2.9%), and mining (+3.4%), all of which came in under CPI.
The remaining sectors saw real earnings growth, with manufacturing up 4.7%, Transport up 5.7%, community services (including government) up 6%, and the electricity sector earnings up 7.9%.
Gross earnings paid to employees decreased by R4.8 billion or -0.5% from R1.029 trillion in March 2025 to R1.025 trillion in June 2026.
This was due to decreases in business services, mining, and transport. However, community services, trade, construction, manufacturing, and electricity increased.
Year-on-year gross earnings increased by R35.1 billion or 3.5% between June 2025 and June 2026.
Basic salary/wages paid to employees increased by R15.5 billion or 1.7% from R914.6 billion in March 2026 to R930.1 billion in June 2026.
This was due to increases in community services, business services, construction, trade, and manufacturing. However, mining, electricity, and transport reported decreases.
Year-on-year basic salary/wages increased by R26.7 billion or 3.0% between June 2025 and June 2026.
Bonuses paid to employees decreased by R23 billion or -26.9% from R85.8 billion in March 2025 to R62.8 billion in June 2026.
This was due to decreases in the business services, community services, transport, manufacturing, and electricity industries. However, the trade and construction industries reported an increase.
Year-on-year bonus payments increased by R6.1 billion or 10.8% between June 2025 and June 2026.
Overtime paid to employees increased by R2.7 billion or 9.3% from R29.4 billion in March 2025 to R32.1 billion in June 2026.
Year-on-year overtime payments increased by R2.3 billion or 7.6% between June 2025 and June 2026.
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