Business
Trouble for South Africans Earning Above R40,000 as High-Income Jobs Decline
A Shift in the Salary Landscape
South Africa’s salary scene is changing, and not in the way many high earners had hoped. Fresh figures from the BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI) show that fewer South Africans are taking home salaries of more than R40,000 a month. This signals a worrying trend: more job losses among top earners, even as inflation eases and average pay shows modest real growth.
In July 2025, the average take-home salary dropped to R17,144 from R17,339 the month before. That might not seem dramatic, but it adds up to a 6.9% decline since the start of the year. The BTPI tracks around 3.8 million salaries, offering one of the clearest monthly snapshots of how the job market is holding up.
The Pressure on Higher Earners
Shergeran Naidoo from BankservAfrica explained that workers are being squeezed between a weakening job market and rising costs, from taxes to interest rates. Independent economist Elize Kruger went further, pointing out that salary data does more than reflect what people are paid. It also reveals where the economy is shedding jobs.
Her analysis shows that salaries in the R40,000 to R100,000 range have thinned out. This isn’t about people taking pay cuts. It’s about roles vanishing altogether, while most new salaries are being logged in lower brackets: below R10,000 and in the R20,000 to R30,000 range. For a country battling a 33.2% unemployment rate, this shift tells a story of polarisation: the comfortable are shrinking in number, while the low-to-mid brackets grow.
Relief and Reality
On the surface, there is some good news. With inflation expected to average 3.5% this year, down from 4.4% in 2024, and most industries giving raises above 5%, 2025 is on track to deliver a second consecutive year of real pay increases. In fact, real take-home pay in July stood at R14,660, which is still higher than a year ago.
Yet, these averages don’t always reflect lived reality. July is notorious in South Africa for annual municipal tariff hikes, from electricity to water. In Johannesburg and other metros, these increases far outpace the official inflation rate, and households are feeling the pinch. Kruger noted that inefficiencies and corruption in municipalities inflate costs, eroding service delivery and leaving consumers to foot the bill.
A Divided Paycheque Nation
The salary data shows a South African workforce under pressure from two directions. Lower and middle earners are seeing more jobs appear, but not necessarily enough to close the cost-of-living gap. Higher earners, once considered secure, are finding their opportunities cut back.
For many, the numbers carry a sobering reminder: while average pay may look positive on paper, real-world factors like municipal tariffs, weak job creation, and structural inefficiencies mean that salaries still don’t stretch as far as they should.
As Kruger put it, “salary earners continue to grapple with the higher cost of living,” and in July especially, it was clear just how tough that battle has become.
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Source: Business Tech
Featured Image: The South African
