Payment index for salaries shows more than 216 000 additional salary payments were recorded in the first eight months of 2025.
The revamped version of BankservAfrica’s Take-Home Pay index shows that monthly salaries increased marginally in August, although it recorded fewer high-income earners.
PayInc, formerly BankservAfrica, launched the PayInc Net Salary Index on Thursday. It is a revamped version of the well-known Take-home Pay Index, featuring a revised sample and new methodology to deliver deeper insights into South African salary trends and the labour market.
Tracking the nominal net salaries of an estimated 2.1 million recipients earning between R5 000 and R100 000 per month, the revised PayInc sample for August showed fewer salaries were paid in the higher income range of between R40 000 and R100 000 in the first eight months of 2025.
Most salaries were paid in the lower income band of between R5 000 and R10 000, followed by a smaller proportion in the R10 000 to R40 000 range.
The average salary is calculated by dividing the total value of salaries paid into the bank accounts of employees, as cleared through PayInc, by the total number of salary payments. “The average reflects the underlying movements in the labour market,” Elize Kruger, an independent economist, explains.
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Payment index increased by 2% in the past year
The PayInc Net Salary Index increased marginally in August, with monthly salaries reaching R21 222, 0.2% up on July’s level and 2.0% higher than a year ago, Shergeran Naidoo, head of stakeholder engagements at PayInc, says.
The upward trend in net salaries seen in 2024 continued into 2025, with the average nominal net salary in the first eight months increasing by 4.6% compared to the same period last year.
“The recovery in salaries reflects the moderate improvement in economic activity and the economy’s resilience. The refreshed PayInc Net Salary Index reinforces the view that 2025 is shaping up to be a positive salary year, despite the uncertainties and challenges weighing on the economic outlook,” Kruger says.
In real terms, the PayInc Net Salary Index decreased by 0.1% month-on-month to R20 758 in August 2025, marginally lower compared to R20 782 in July, according to Naidoo. This is the second consecutive month that real net salaries dipped below year-ago levels. Your real net salary is your actual take-home pay after deductions such as tax, pension and medical aid.
However, Kruger says, with consumer inflation averaging just 3.1% in the first eight months of 2025, the average real net salary increased by 1.5% compared to the same period in 2024. With a full-year average consumer inflation forecast at 3.3% in 2025, compared to 4.4% in 2024 and industry data suggesting an average salary increase above 5%, 2025 will likely be the second consecutive year of a real increase in earnings.
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Welcome tailwind for salary earners, economist says
“This is a welcome tailwind for salary earners, supporting consumption expenditure and could assist in softening the impact of global headwinds on the local economy,” she says.
Despite notable improvements in salaries since 2024, the strain on earnings from the dismal years of 2021–2023 continues to weigh on households, particularly the declining purchasing power caused by high inflation, she points out.
“According to the PayInc Net Salary findings, the trend in real net salaries since 2020 suggests that while salaries recently began to catch up, they still lag significantly behind earlier levels. As a result, salary earners continue to feel the strain of the higher cost of living,” Kruger says.
