This is the average salary in South Africa right now
Stats SA has published the latest Quarterly Employment Statistics for the second quarter of the year—ending June—showing a moderate jump in earnings.
The average monthly earnings for the non-agricultural formal sector amounted to R27,450 in Q2, up from R26,783 in the first quarter, representing a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.5%.
Year on year, the AME was up 4.8% from R26,202 in May 2023.
Average earnings were different across various sectors.
Even though there was an overall increase in AME, the electricity industry saw a decline in average earnings in the same period of around 0.5% year-on-year.
Year-on-year business services industry reported the largest annual increase of 7.5%, whilst community
services industry showed the lowest increase of 2.3%.
Overall, gross earnings paid to employees decreased by R4.6 billion or -0.5% from R957 billion in March 2024 to R952.4 billion in June 2024.
This was due to decreases in business services and electricity industries.
However, increases were reported by community services, trade, construction, transport, manufacturing, and mining.
Year-on-year gross earnings increased by R35.4 billion or 3.9% between June 2023 and June 2024.
Basic salary/wages paid to employees increased by R21.8 billion or 2.6% over the quarter, bonuses paid to employees decreased by R27.5 billion or -34%, and overtime paid to employees increased by R1.2 billion or 4.2%.
Take-home pay
While the average formal salary in the country has shown moderate gains, take-home pay (after tax) is improving in greater measure.
The BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), which tracks the average nominal take-home pay among an estimated 4 million salary earners in South Africa, improved for the fifth month in August.
Average nominal take-home pay reached R16,582, showing a 6.7% increase compared to a year ago.
In real terms, take-home pay also tracked higher at R14,520 in August 2024 or 1.9% up on a year ago levels.
Take-home pay has been surprising on the upside in 2024, reflecting improving economic fundamentals in South Africa.
South Africa has not only seen load shedding being suspended for nearly six months but also a notable moderation in inflation, a new political landscape and the first interest rate cut since March 2020.
There are also firm indications that the Government of National Unity (GNU) will focus on speeding up structural reforms to address obstacles to growth and job creation.
A comparison over the first eight months of 2024 to the corresponding period shows a 6.6% increase.
In real terms, there was also an increase of 1.3%.
“These numbers suggest 2024 will likely be the best year for salaries since 2020 – or the first year in which the increase in average nominal take-home pay beats inflation since 2020,” said Elize Kruger, Independent Economist.
“This improvement in purchasing power will go some way to provide much-needed relief to cash-strapped households and could provide support for consumer spending.”
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