{"id":867107,"date":"2026-07-22T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=867107"},"modified":"2026-07-22T13:42:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T11:42:28","slug":"another-blow-for-anyone-earning-a-salary-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/finance\/867107\/another-blow-for-anyone-earning-a-salary-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Another blow for anyone earning a salary in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African salary earners saw a slight increase in nominal net salaries during June 2026, but rising inflation continued to erode purchasing power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to the latest\u00a0PayInc Net\u00a0Salary Index, which tracks the average nominal\u00a0net\u00a0salaries of approximately 2.1 million salary earners in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said real take-home pay has fallen to its lowest level in about two years, placing increasing pressure on consumer spending and economic growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe average nominal\u00a0net\u00a0salary increased to R21,598 in June 2026, up 0.4% from May,” said Shergeran Naidoo, Head of Stakeholder Engagement at\u00a0PayInc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“However, salaries were only 0.5% higher than a year ago, highlighting the subdued pace of earnings growth.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PayInc noted that the small increase in nominal salaries masks the reality facing many South African households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first half of 2026 has been notably tough for salary earners, with nominal net salaries increasing by 1.5% over the six-month period, while real\u00a0net\u00a0salaries declined by 2.1%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Although salary earners are\u00a0taking home\u00a0marginally more in rand terms, inflation continues to outpace wage growth, steadily reducing their purchasing power,\u201d said Elize Kruger, Independent Economist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June, the\u00a0PayInc Net\u00a0Salary Index dropped by 0.3% in real terms from May and by 3.6% year-on-year, bringing the average real net salary to R20,198, the lowest level recorded in roughly two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The continued decline in real earnings is likely to place increasing pressure on household budgets and consumer spending during the remainder of the year,” added Kruger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As disposable income comes under strain, households are becoming more cautious with discretionary spending, which could weigh on broader economic activity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not just fuel <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
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Economist Elize Kruger<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Although high fuel prices have driven inflation in recent months, administered price increases are emerging as an equally significant source of financial pressure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Many salary earners will soon begin to feel the impact of annual increases in electricity, water and other municipal tariffs,” said Kruger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These administered prices have consistently increased faster than headline inflation, placing additional pressure on household finances even as salary growth remains subdued.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Items in the Administered Price Index account for 12.9% of the consumer price basket and include electricity, water supply, refuse collection, sewerage, assessment rates and education costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the fuel price increases, administered price inflation accelerated to 13.7% in May, while administered price inflation excluding fuel also increased to 7.6%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Electricity remains one of the largest contributors to administered price inflation, with many municipalities implementing tariff increases well above the inflation rate,” said Kruger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These increases not only reduce household purchasing power but also raise operating costs for businesses, affecting economic competitiveness, investment and employment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest inflation figure from Stats SA stood at 5.0%, with the Reserve Bank now expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Administered prices remained elevated, and international oil prices are again coming under pressure from renewed geopolitical tensions, with the economic outlook remaining uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“After two years of relatively healthy salary growth, 2026 has marked a turning point for salary earners,” said Kruger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Until wage growth begins to outpace inflation again, many South Africans are likely to remain under financial pressure despite modest increases in nominal salaries.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Consumers continue to face a tough economic environment, with real take-home pay declining to its worst level in two years. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":796671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2079891969300373647","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11121],"tags":[23495],"class_list":["post-867107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","tag-payinc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867107"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867138,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867107\/revisions\/867138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}