Biggest salary increases in South Africa in 2016

 ·2 May 2016

Data from CareerJunction’s salary index shows which South African jobs saw the biggest jump in offered salary between 2015 and 2016.

The CJ salary review is compiled exclusively for the South African workforce and HR/recruitment professionals, and is based on over 30,000 job listings on the CareerJunction website.

The review is published annually, presenting the opportunity to track year-on-year changes in market-related pay across 10 sectors in South Africa.

In 2016, most jobs covered by CareerJunction saw an increase in average salaries, with 71 of 107 careers seeing pay climb. However 36 jobs saw the average salary offered drop – by as much as 60%.

The biggest climber in salaries were for investment bankers, where a skilled employee saw offered salaries jump from a maximum of R23,058 per month to R39,659 per month.

On the other end of the scale, packers and packagers in the warehousing sector saw the biggest drop in salary offered for skilled workers – a 60% drop from R16,484 per month in 2015, to just R6,535 in 2016.

The tables below show the salary changes in each sector, looking at the maximum salaries offered to skilled employees between 2015 and 2016, as reported by CareerJunction.

Admin, Office and Support

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Client and Customer support R11 411 R13 748 +20.5%
Data Capturing R10 261 R11 885 +15.8%
Secretary R18 292 R20 672 +13.0%
Office Management R21 410 R22 136 +3.4%
Call center operator R13 404 R13 631 +1.7%
Switchboard & Reception R10 552 R10 690 +1.3%
Admin Clerk R12 583 R12 277 -2.4%
Teller & Cashier R6 489 R6 189 -4.6%
Health, Safety & Environment R22 402 R21 254 -5.1%
Personal Assistant R19 176 R18 091 -5.7%
Human Resources officer R25 003 R22 990 -8.1%
Messenger & postal service R11 087 R9 917 -10.6%
Call center supervisor R18 333 R14 929 -18.6%

Building and Construction

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Quality Control & Assurance R20 537 R25 678 +25.0%
Draughtsman R24 495 R27 408 +11.9%
Electrician R20 757 R22 985 +10.7%
Structural Engineering R46 569 R49 742 +6.8%
Civil Engineering R39 918 R42 153 +5.6%
Plumber Pipe & Steam Fitting R18 700 R19 390 +3.7%
Artisan R25 414 R23 243 -8.5%
Quantity Surveying R33 846 R29 583 -12.6%
Architecture R37 500 R23 973 -36.1%

Design, Media and Arts

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Industrial design R15 500 R19 986 +28.9%
TV / Video / Movie operator R14 916 R18 868 +26.5%
Web Design / Multimedia / 3D R21 402 R25 891 +21.0%
Journalism / Writing / Editing R24 387 R24 628 +1.0%
Graphic / Print / Packaging Design R18 854 R18 391 -2.5%
Interior Design R24 917 R22 188 -11.0%

Engineering

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Industrial Engineering R36 968 R44 024 +19.1%
Structural Engineering R46 569 R49 742 +6.8%
Civil Engineering R39 918 R42 153 +5.6%
Electrical Engineering R45 697 R46 446 +1.6%
Mechanical Engineering R51 606 R49 439 -4.2%
Mining Engineering R68 125 R63 095 -7.4%
Electronic Engineering R40 056 R37 007 -7.6%
Project Engineering R49 890 R36 105 -27.6%

Finance

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Investment Banking R23 058 R39 659 +72.0%
Treasury Management R34 408 R55 083 +60.1%
Credit & Loan Management R22 346 R29 721 +33.0%
Insurance Admin & Sales R18 736 R24 641 +31.5%
Taxation R34 182 R44 038 +28.8%
Underwriting R23 632 R29 010 +22.8%
Financial Advisory R27 106 R33 189 +22.4%
Risk Management R42 067 R48 675 +15.7%
Cost Accounting R36 832 R40 500 +10.0%
Asset Management R31 820 R33 881 +6.5%
Credit Control R16 212 R17 010 +4.9%
Actuary R34 475 R35 978 +4.4%
Accounts Payable & Receivable R20 317 R21 073 +3.7%
Management Accounting R40 701 R42 096 +3.4%
Auditing R30 705 R31 490 +2.6%
Bookkeeping R18 806 R18 842 +0.2%
Chartered Accounting R46 403 R46 425 +0.1%
Financial Management R49 025 R48 843 -0.4%
Accounting R33 603 R33 147 -1.4%
Internal Auditing R38 473 R37 824 -1.7%
Payroll & Wages R20 959 R20 413 -2.6%
Insurance Advisory R18 175 R16 961 -6.7%
Acquisitions & Leverage Management R35 396 R33 028 -6.7%
Portfolio Management R34 516 R30 364 -12.0%
Purchasing and Procurement R29 961 R23 568 -21.3%

ICT

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Radio & Satellite Technology R21 572 R30 711 +42.4%
Technical & Business Architecture R43 929 R56 477 +28.6%
Software Development R34 415 R37 278 +8.3%
Systems & Network Admin R25 705 R27 671 +7.7%
Systems Analysis R39 625 R42 532 +7.3%
Network Planning, Design & Installation R25 324 R26 757 +5.7%
Data Analysis & Warehousing R34 876 R36 792 +5.5%
UX & GUI Design R31 910 R33 659 +5.5%
IT Management R44 569 R46 893 +5.2%
Business Analysis R40 505 R41 726 +3.0%
Database Design, Development & Admin R33 756 R34 285 +1.6%
IT Project Admin & Management R39 869 R37 019 -7.2%

Marketing

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Communications & Public Relations R26 266 R31 144 +18.6%
Events Coordinating & Planning R18 375 R20 463 +11.4%
Brand Management R34 211 R37 452 +9.5%
Product Management R36 121 R39 060 +8.1%
Marketing Management R36 089 R36 400 +0.9%
Market Research & Analysis R36 767 R36 967 +0.5%
Marketing Assistance R17 375 R16 169 -6.9%
Advertising R20 951 R18 100 -13.6%

Manufacturing and Assembly

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Assembly & Fabricating R13 958 R21 965 +57.4%
Tool & Die Making R14 682 R22 162 +51.0%
Artisan R16 506 R20 681 +25.3%
Process Control R20 790 R25 343 +21.9%
Quality Control & Assurance R15 256 R17 901 +17.3%
Plant & Production Control R19 599 R22 690 +15.8%
Materials Control R22 019 R25 486 +15.8%
Food Processing & Tech R20 048 R22 407 +11.8%
Metallurgy & Boiler Making R19 328 R21 500 +11.2%
Machinist R21 017 R22 781 +8.4%
Printing R16 273 R15 875 -2.5%
Plant Management R48 333 R40 238 -16.8%

Sales

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Travel Agent R13 587 R15 444 +13.7%
Real Estate & Property Agent R21 604 R24 262 +12.3%
Short-term Life & Medical Insurance Broking R16 258 R17 419 +7.1%
Sales Management R28 587 R30 331 +6.1%
Representative Sales Consulting R17 805 R18 556 +4.2%
Account Management R29 487 R29 010 -1.6%
Telesales & Telemarketing R11 653 R10 302 -11.6%
Merchandiser, Product Promoter & Demonstrator R19 156 R15 486 -19.1%
Retail R17 119 R13 741 -19.7%

Warehousing and Logistics

Job 2015 Salary 2016 Salary Change (%)
Dispatch & Receiving R12 858 R18 176 +41.4%
Route Management & control R17 288 R20 683 +19.6%
Warehouse Operations R15 251 R13 995 -8.2%
Distribution / Courier Services R14 347 R10 967 -23.6%
Logistics Management R42 952 R23 748 -44.7%
Packing & Packaging R16 484 R6 535 -60.4%

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