This is the average salary in South Africa right now

Stats SA has published its latest quarterly employment data for the third quarter of 2018 ending September.

According to its report, employment in South Africa decreased by 16,000 quarter-on-quarter, from 9.75 million in June 2018, to 9.73 million in September.

Year on year, employment figures were up by 0.2%, however, with the average monthly salary also up by 5% YoY, and 3.5% QoQ.

The average salary for South Africa’s workforce as at August 2018 is R20,860 a month, up from R20,163 in July 2018, and R19,865 in August 2017.  This is approximately R250,320 a year.

Across the various industries, those working in the electricity industry are the most well remunerated, while those in the trade industry draws the lowest average.

Employment by industry

Gross earnings by industry

The table below outlines salary changes across industries. StatsSA’s data covers the three month period between June 2018 and September 2018, so the data below shows the average over that period.

Read: South African employment declines in the third quarter