Today's Labour News

BusinessTech reports that South African employers foresee average salary increases of 6.1% in 2024, according to new research by consultancy WTW in its most recent Salary Budget Planning Report.

The 6.1% raise planned for 2024, based on responses from 440 organisations across SA, is slightly lower than the 6.6% actual average rise in pay budgets made in 2023. WTW said the companies surveyed were considering raising their compensation budgets in 2024 for two primary reasons. About 70% of the organisations attributed inflationary pressure as the reason, while nearly 44% responded that the increases were due to a competitive labour market, with companies aiming to attract and retain quality employees. “Businesses are still grappling with inflationary pressures and a tight labour market, and these factors are pushing up salaries. The forecast rises for [2024] are slightly lower than what we have seen [in 2023], but overall, they are still at a relatively high rate,” said Melanie Trollip, Director of Work and Rewards at WTW South Africa. Based on the latest average salary data from Statistics SA, the average salary in SA is R26,086 a month or R313,032 annually. If employees were to earn the average salary and see a 6.1% increase, they would have an extra R19,095 in their pockets at the end of the year – or R1,591.25 more every month. Salary indices from the latter months of 2023 showed that the country was still battling with a declining trend in real incomes, with salary increases sitting well below the inflation rates.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Seth Thorne at BusinessTech
• Read too, Fall in real wages hammers November retail sales, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page