Good news for salaries in South Africa

South African salaries saw an increase at the end of 2024, with R1.03 trillion being paid in total gross earnings to employees at the end of Q4.

This was revealed in Stats SA’s Quarterly Employment Statistics survey, which found that employee earnings saw strong growth in Q4 2024.

Total gross earnings paid to employees increased by 6.1%, reaching R1.03 trillion in December 2024 compared to R969.4 billion in September 2024.

This growth was primarily driven by higher earnings in key industries, with the trade sector leading the way at R13.6 billion in additional earnings.

The manufacturing and community services industries followed closely, adding R13 billion and R12.4 billion respectively.

Other notable gains came from the business services, which added R7.6 billion, construction, which brought in R6.4 billion, and transport, which contributed R4.6 billion.

The electricity sector also added another R2.5 billion.

However, the mining industry stood as the only sector to report a decline, with gross earnings dropping by R910 million.

Basic salaries and wages also saw a 0.8% increase, rising by R9.5 billion to a total of R889.7 billion in December 2024.

The community services, trade, manufacturing, business services, transport, construction, and electricity industries were the key contributors to this upward trend.

However, the mining industry once again diverged from the overall growth, reporting a decline in salaries and wages.

On a year-on-year basis, from December 2023 to December 2024, basic salaries and wages increased by 4,0%, adding R34,1 billion to the economy.

The biggest quarterly gain came from bonus payments, which rose by a notable R51.8 billion – an 85,4% increase.

Notably, salaries tend to peak in the final quarter of every year as a result of bonusses being paid out.

In Q4 2024, bonuses climbed from R60.7 billion in September 2024 to R112.5 billion in December 2024.

This sharp rise was largely driven by increased bonus payouts in the manufacturing, trade, community services, business services, construction, transport, and electricity sectors.

On a year-on-year basis, bonus payments grew more modestly by 3.2%, adding R3.4 billion compared to December 2023.

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Overtime pay and average monthly earnings

However, Stats SA revealed that overtime payments declined by 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of R2.2 billion, reaching R26.4 billion.

Despite the overall drop, the manufacturing, trade, and construction industries reported increases in overtime payments.

On a yearly basis, though, overtime payments fell by R2 billion, marking a 7.1% decline compared to the previous year.

The average monthly earnings (AME) paid to employees saw a slight quarterly decline of 0.2%, dropping from R28,274 in August 2024 to R28,231 in November 2024.

However, on a year-on-year basis, average earnings still showed strong growth, increasing by 5.3%.

The Stats SA report also found that the average monthly earnings showed diverging trends across different industries.

The electricity sector stands out with the highest average monthly earnings, significantly surpassing the overall average.

AME for the electricity, gas and water supply industry reached R55,359 during the quarter.

The mining and community services industries also report substantial wages, with an AME of R34,333 and R34,202 each.

This was followed by competitive salaries in the transport and business services sectors at R32,499.

In contrast, the manufacturing, construction, and trade industries fall below the total average, reflecting lower wage levels.

In fact, workers in the trade industry earned 64% of the average monthly earnings in South Africa.

These differences highlight the varying economic roles and challenges faced by each industry, the report said.