The average nominal monthly salary measured in the BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index slipped 2.7% to R14 457 in May from the year before, while take-home pay adjusted for inflation fell 8.8% to a record low.
"An environment of such low confidence is not conducive for job creation or comfortable wage increases," said Elize Kruger, an independent economist. South African business confidence has slumped for five consecutive quarters and is at its lowest level since a lockdown instituted during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, surveys conducted by Rand Merchant Bank and the Bureau for Economic Research show. The mood has been soured by the state power utility’s inability to meet demand for electricity, which has resulted in a series of outages.