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In a dramatic turn of events for South Africa\u2019s salaries, the real average take-home pay declined in March 2022 as the number of salaries paid shot up compared to a year ago, according to the monthly BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI).<\/p>\n
The real average South African salary fell below the R15,000 mark in March 2022 and recorded one of the biggest annual falls on record at -5.6%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe average real salary was R14,969 in March, falling below the R15 000+ mark seen in the previous months,\u201d said Shergeran Naidoo, BankservAfrica\u2019s Head of Stakeholder Engagements. \u201cThe real BTPI annual decline of 5.6% is one of the biggest annual falls on record.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the significant decline in average salaries hides the fact that more people are receiving salaries than last year.<\/p>\n
The annual growth in the monthly estimate of employment numbers indicates the return of casual and weekly workers, and that most of the vulnerable sectors in the Covid-19 pandemic, such as tourism and entertainment, are making a comeback. More firms are hiring people at the lower end of the salary scale for new employment opportunities.<\/p>\n
The thinking behind this stems from the odd movement between the increasing number of monthly paid employees despite the significant average take-home pay declines.<\/p>\n
In the current economic context, we can deduce that this pattern has emerged from the employment growth within a specific sector or the expanding pool of younger, inexperienced employees in the overall economy, said BankservAfrica.<\/p>\n
The average nominal salary in March was nearly R1,000 lower than the record R16,022 registered in February. In 2021 terms, the average take-home pay was R14,969. The March numbers are usually lower as the year-end bonus pay-outs fall out of the index\u2019s smoothing, the clearinghouse said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, the total number of people paid via BankservAfrica is very close to reaching the 2019 levels, after already having exceeded the 2020 numbers,\u201d said Mike Sch\u00fcssler, chief economist at economists.co.za.<\/p>\n
The BankservAfrica Private Pensions Index (BPPI) showed the average real private pension fell for the second time in 20 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real average private pension was R9,475, which represented a 0.1% year-on-year decline,\u201d said Naidoo.<\/p>\n
The total take-home pay and private pensions processed in value terms declined by 1.3% in real terms but increased by 4.5% in nominal terms. \u201cBased on these numbers, and with salaries coming under greater pressure from the higher inflation rate, one can expect overall retail sales to show a declining or slowing trend in the next month or two,\u201d said Sch\u00fcssler.<\/p>\n