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SA’s take-home pay spikes in September, but the momentum likely to be short-lived

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earningsMoneyweb reports that according to the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), the average take-home pay of South Africans saw a spike, before adjustment for inflation, of 13.5% in September 2021, reflecting the fastest growth on record .

However, with disruptions in the supply chain and the recent July unrest, this upward trend was unlikely to continue, BankservAfrica cautioned in the index results released on Thursday. “The nominalised average salary was R15,794 in September 2021, one of the highest on record and in years. In real terms [after taking inflation into account], the average salary was R13,047, representing a substantial growth of 8.3% year-on-year,” said BankservAfrica’s Shergeran Naidoo. The unexpected growth in salaries was attributed to several factors including overtime pay for SA Defence Force (SANDF) and the SA Police Service (SAPS) members who were deployed to monitor and control the unrest in July. BankservAfrica indicated that this added almost R1 billion in overall salaries. Another contributing factor was the adjustments in civil servants’ salaries. According to the index, these added payments “reflect the delayed implementation of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council’s salary adjustment for civil servants for a cash allowance that is back payable” for the period from April 2021 to March 2022. Another factor was the low base for take-home pay in September last year. “All these factors indicate that the average take-home pay will not increase at September’s rate in the next month or so,” commented Mike Schüssler, chief economist at economists.co.za.

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Palesa Mofokeng at Moneyweb


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