Business
Inside the Government Roles Paying More Than R56,000 a Month
For years, the idea of a government job in South Africa has come with a certain reputation. Stability, solid benefits, and steady pay increases. New salary data released for 2025 suggests that for some public servants, those rewards are now reaching levels that rival the private sector.
According to the latest Quarterly Employment Survey, a small but influential group of government workers is earning average monthly salaries above R56,000. That figure places them well ahead of most workers in the country and firmly above the national average.
Who is earning the big money in government
At the top of the government pay scale sit employees of extra-budgetary institutions, often referred to as EBIs. These are state entities that operate outside standard parliamentary structures but still deliver essential services on behalf of the national government.
Well-known examples include organisations such as the South African Revenue Service, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, the Road Accident Fund, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Between July and September 2025, employees in these institutions earned an average of R56,413 per month. While that places them fifth overall across all industries, behind sectors like technology services and utilities, it makes them the highest earners within government itself.
How government salaries compare to everyone else’s
What stands out in the data is that every government category earns more than the formal non-agricultural average salary of R29,490. Even the lowest-paid public sector groups are still comfortably above the national benchmark.
National departments saw the sharpest year-on-year increase, with average salaries jumping by more than 10 percent. Provincial departments and universities followed, while local government workers experienced the smallest increase at under 2 percent.
This comes against the backdrop of a public service that employs more than 1.3 million people across the country. For many South Africans facing unemployment or insecure work, the appeal of state employment has never been stronger.
The return of above-inflation wage hikes
Public sector wages have been climbing for decades, often outpacing inflation. That trend paused briefly during the COVID years, when salary increases were frozen under severe fiscal pressure.
Those brakes are now off. In the 2025 budget, the government agreed to a 5.5 percent wage increase, exceeding earlier projections. According to the National Treasury, this decision adds billions of rand to state spending over the next three years.
In total, employee compensation now consumes more than 30 percent of the national budget, amounting to over R814 billion.
Why the wage bill debate is flaring up again
South Africa’s public sector wage bill has long been a flashpoint in economic debates. Studies by global institutions estimate it consistently absorbs between 12 and 13 percent of GDP. That places the country among the highest in the world.
Economist Dawie Roodt has been particularly vocal, arguing that many state employees are underworked and overpaid. While he acknowledges that this does not apply to everyone, he points to a growing imbalance between the number of people dependent on the state and the economy’s ability to sustain them.
His comments regularly spark heated reactions on social media, where public servants push back, highlighting long hours, staff shortages, and frontline pressures. At the same time, taxpayers question whether the country can afford a system that continues to expand while economic growth remains sluggish.
A moment of reckoning for state employment
The reality is that government jobs remain among the most desirable in South Africa. For young people entering the job market, the public service often looks safer and more rewarding than the private sector.
But as salary levels rise and budgets tighten, the pressure is building. Without stronger economic growth and improved efficiency, the debate around who earns what in government is only going to get louder.
For now, one thing is clear. If you work in the right corner of the public sector, the pay packet can be far healthier than many South Africans might expect.
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Source: Business Tech
Featured Image: CHRO South Africa
