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- South African salaries are declining and have not bounced back to levels seen four years ago.
- Formal-sector salaries have declined by 0.5% year-on-year in June 2021 and total salaries are 3% lower than in 2019, according to BankservAfrica.
- The nominal average take-home salary sits at R14 883 - down 0.5%.
Salaries in South Africa have not recovered to levels seen three or four years ago, data from the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI) suggest.
The index, which indicates trends in SA salaries, is derived from salary payments made to approximately three million people, or about 36% of the country's workforce.
The real salary for June 2021 was R12 496, or R14 883 in nominal terms, said Shergeran Naidoo, BankservAfrica's head of stakeholder engagements.
However, BankservAfrica said, the actual decline is likely to be smaller than reflected by the index, as the monthly data reflect the returns of daily and weekly paid workers on the payments system - and their earnings, on average, are less.
There was a sharp rise in total salaries paid into bank accounts in June 2021 in real annual terms, as June 2020 had seen a very weak number.
Despite that increase, the June 2021 wage was still slightly lower than the June 2018 average.
"Total salary payments are not yet back at the levels seen two, three or even four years ago. The decline in total take-home pay paid to all the employees shows the Covid-19 pandemic still influences the number of people employed in the formal sector and the total real amount paid," said Mike Schüssler, chief economist at economists.co.za.
"When we look at salaries in a 'normal year' by comparing it to figures two years ago and before the pandemic hit, the total money paid to all the employees into the National Payment System for 2021 was still about 3% lower than in 2019," added Naidoo.
BankservAfrica said according to Stats SA data, government's employment was 1% up in the first quarter of 2021.
But, it said, as these figures make up a large proportion of the index's total salary data pool, the BTPI figures suggest the private sector's recovery still has some way to go.
For Schüssler, the take-home trends give a quick insight into employment, and "our June 2021 data show recovery was still taking place during the month".
However, as payments often lag, he believes it is likely that the impact from more restrictive recent lockdown measures during South Africa's third wave will only show up in August 2021 data.
BankservAfrica also measured private pension activity on its Private Pensions Index and found that for the eighth consecutive month, private pensions have increased by more than double the inflation rate.
"In June 2021, private pensions recorded an average real pension of R7 691. This was 6.2% higher in June 2021 after taking inflation into account," said Naidoo. "The nominal pension was R9 291."
In June 2021 there were approximately 658 624 private pensioners, according to the index.
"We do not know the full reason for the incredible rise in average pensions, but we do know that it has become widespread again as median pensioners experienced a 4.3% raise," said Schüssler.
The average pension is still only 62.4% that of the average salary, said BankservAfrica.
