Take-home pay drops again with consumers caught between lower average salaries and rising municipal rates

The Money Show's Stephen Grootes discusses the trend with independent economist Elize Kruger and Benay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters.

The average nominal take-home pay in South Africa slid further in the month of July, according to the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI).

The survey tracks the monthly salary movements of approximately 3.8 million local salary earners. 

BankServ says the latest data reveals the pressure on employees, caught between a weak job market and rising municipal rates.

“The nominal average take-home pay reached R17 144 in July 2025, which is 1.1% lower than the R17 339 reflected in June 2025... and a significant 6.9% lower than in February 2025.”

Shergeran Naidoo, Head: Stakeholder Engagements - BankservAfrica

At the same time, the average nominal take-home pay for 2025 is expected to end notably higher than in 2024.

BankServ says this makes for a positive salary year on balance, despite the risks in the broader economic outlook.

Economist Elize Kruger describes the survey as a snapshot of salary earners in South Africa.

"It's basically the average of all the salaries paid into bank accounts...  a 'snapshot' which we track over time to get a feel for the trend in the employment market in terms of salary increases and so on."

Elize Kruger, Independent Economist

She notes that July was the fifth consecutive month of moderation in  take-home pay, making it a concerning trend.

Kruger does also highlight that these figures are off  a fairly high base.

"We have been moving lower since February when we had quite a peak, so the average for this first seven months of the year is still quite notably above a year ago."

Elize Kruger, Independent Economist

DebtBusters chief Benay Sager points out that this take-home pay drop comes despite relief for consumers in the form of interest rate reduction, and the use of the two-pot retirement system to access extra cash.

Where the pressure lies, he believes, especially from a lending perspective, is that average incomes have not really grown over the last nine to ten years while mandatory price hikes have.

"Electricity for example has gone up 165% over the same period, and the petrol price 75%. What we find is that these two things put together - the lack of growth in incomes plus the increases that we can't do much about because they come from the public sector, really force people to borrow more."

Benay Sager, Executive Head - DebtBusters

Debt levels for today's consumer are 33% higher compared to 2016, Sager says.

For more detail, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article