In nominal terms, the average salary moderated slightly to reach\u00a0R16,043<\/strong>. This is still 5.0% up from a year prior and 3.6% up from December’s R15,484.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The average nominal BTPI in Q1 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter one year earlier showed a 6.2% increase. <\/p>\n\n\n Independent economist Elize Kruger said that if this trend continues, 2024 could be a better year for salaries as the business environment improves, unlike the last two years, where employers struggled to pay inflation-related increases due to economic challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While GDP growth is still estimated at a relatively low 1.1% for 2024, this is an improvement from 0.6% in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The improved outlook rests on the assumption load shedding will reduce and average inflation will moderate, and this, in turn, starts the interest rate-cutting cycle. There are risks to this outlook, however<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Year to date, BankservAfrica data aligns with the South African Reserve Bank\u2019s forecast of an average salary increase of 6.1% in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new trend, noticeable in the mining industry, is for companies to enter into longer-term wage agreements, largely with above-inflation outcomes for salary earners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With average headline CPI expected to moderate to 5.3% in 2024 and 4.8% in 2025, workers are set to see real increases<\/strong> in their salaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInflation has turned out to be quite sticky on the downward path, locally and globally, driven mostly by higher services and administered price inflation,\u201d said Kruger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Headline inflation dropped notably from 7.1% in March 2023 to 5.3% a year later, but it is forecast to remain around 5.3%, staying at the 5.5% level until September and below 5% by year-end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPositive real increases in average salaries in 2024 would be a welcomed development as salaried workers\u2019 purchasing power will improve somewhat compared to the previous two years,\u201d said Kruger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With lower interest rates, spending ability and confidence levels in financially stressed households should improve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless, cuts in interest rates are only predicted to occur in the year’s second half, if at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/banks-1.jpg\")
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