This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
The Citizen reports that monthly average take-home pay reached its highest level yet in September when it surpassed the R17,000 mark.
“The average nominal take-home pay reached R17,171 while in real terms salaries adjusted for inflation tracked higher at R14,969, improving by 5.6% year-on-year,” BankservAfrica’s Shergeran Naidoo reported. The September average salary was the highest level since the inception of the BankservAfrica Take-home Pay (BTPI) series in 2012. Real take-home pay increased by 2.2% in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the full-year average in 2023. In nominal terms this climbed by 6.3%. Economist Elize Kruger pointed out that a trend that has been developing recently, especially in unionised industries, was for companies to enter into longer-term wage agreements for up to five years. “Often, these result in above-inflation outcomes for salary earners and have the added benefit of labour stability and cost certainty for companies. With the average headline inflation forecast to average at 4.5% in 2024 and 2025 compared to 6.0% in 2023, workers locked into these agreements are expected to receive handsome real increases as the lower inflation outcomes are realised,” she argued. While estimates point to an average salary increase of around 6% in 2024, Kruger pointed out that the latest data in Statistics SA’s Quarterly Employment Statistics suggested a somewhat lower average increase for the first six months of the year. “Overall, with 2024 being a year of two distinct halves, the higher levels of economic growth forecasts for the second half of the year could trigger a further uptick in salaries in more sectors towards year-end,” Kruger says.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ina Opperman at The Citizen
- Read too, Average take-home pay has climbed above R17,000 a month for the first time, at Fin24 (subscription or trial registration required)
- And also, Boost for domestic worker salaries, at BusinessTech
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page