BL Premium reports that BankServAfrica’s take-home pay index released on Wednesday shows average take-home pay increased slightly in June compared with a year ago and with last month.
The index shows average nominal take-home pay for June was R14,596, more than the R14,579 in June 2022 and R14,483 the previous month. Economist Elize Kruger said they have been noting the stabilisation in salaries since April, when inflation started to trend downward after the shock 7.1% reading in March. SA headline inflation has cooled to its lowest reading in 20 months, reaching 5.4%, falling back within the Reserve Bank 3%-6% target range for the first time since April 2022. “While not definitively evident in the data yet, the pressure on salary earners could soon [decrease] somewhat based on the notable moderation in consumer inflation,” Kruger said. She added: “The moderation in consumer inflation will go some way in reducing the extent of the erosion of purchasing power that households have had to deal with, especially in the past year. Current forecasts suggest that headline inflation could be at 5% in July and average about 5.2% in the second half [of 2023], which could bring more good news.” But, Kruger added that while improving take-home pay was positive, the economic narrative had not changed meaningfully for the economy. Domestic economic activity was still dampened by ongoing load-shedding, elevated interest rates, a lacklustre job market and low confidence. BankservAfrica’s Shergeran Naidoo said their data, adjusted for weekly payments, showed that the job market remained uninspiring, moving mostly sideways.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thuletho Zwane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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