Consumer take-home pay holds steady amid inflation and economic uncertainty

CONSUMER take-home pay, tracked in the BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), held steady in June 2025, after three months of moderation, due to the favourable inflation rate and expectations of an interest rate cut.

- EDWARD WEST

However, while average salaries might increase by 5% this year based on current conditions, future earnings and unemployment levels may be adversely impacted by external factors impacting on the economy, an economist has warned. “The nominal average take-home pay of R17 310 in June 2025 declined marginally by 0.1% on May’s R17 325. However, it was still well above the R15 514 level a year earlier,” said BankservAfrica’s Head of Stakeholder Engagements Shergeran Naidoo.

He said the economic outlook had deteriorated in recent months even though the first six months of data from the index signaled that 2025 would, on average, be a good salary year.