THE REAL average South African salary fell below the R15 000 mark in March and recording one of the biggest annual falls on record of 5.6 percent, according to BankservAfrica.
Automated payments clearing house the BankservAfrica Take Home Pay Index (BTPI) showed that while salary numbers were still looking positive in March, as the total take-home pay and private pensions processed in value terms declined by 1.3 percent in real terms, it increased by 4.5 percent in nominal terms.
BankservAfrica’s Head of Stakeholder Engagements Shergeran Naidoo said the average real salary was R14 969 in March, falling below the R15 000-plus mark seen in the previous months.
“The real BTPI annual decline of 5.6 percent is one of the biggest annual falls on record,” Naidoo said.
The average nominal salary was R15 121 in March, nearly R1 000 lower than the record R16 022 registered in February. In 2021 terms, the average take-home pay was R14 969. The March numbers were usually lower, as the year-end bonus pay-outs fall outside the index’s smoothing.
“But the average decline, shown in the BTPI, hides the fact that more people are receiving salaries compared to a year ago. The end of the national State of Disaster has also resulted in more people rejoining the workforce,” the report noted.
Economists.co.za. chief economist Mike Schüssler said overall, the total number of people paid via BankservAfrica was very close to reaching the 2019 levels, after already having exceeded the 2020 numbers.
With that being said, the average take-home pay was said to be under pressure from the higher inflation rate. The clearing house’s data was said to also suggest that employees returning to work were likely to be from the lower-paying sectors.
Describing this movement, which was described as odd, BankservAfrica said the monthly estimate of employment numbers was up on a year ago, which suggested the return of casual and weekly workers.
The most vulnerable sectors in the Covid-19 pandemic, such as tourism and entertainment, were making a comeback.
”Additionally, the increase in monthly pay cheques shows firms are hiring people – particularly people from the lower end of the salary scale – for new employment opportunities.”
The thinking behind this stemmed from the odd movement between the increasing number of monthly-paid employees despite the significant average take-home pay declines. In the current economic context, the clearing house said that it could deduce that this pattern had emerged from the employment growth within a specific sector, or the expanding pool of younger, inexperienced employees in the overall economy.
“Overall, the total number of people paid via BankservAfrica has exceeded the 2020 numbers and is very close to reaching the 2019 levels. Although this is an estimation, the trend appears positive for the number of people employed,” BankservAfrica said.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE