P E Corporate Services has released its 2019/2020 Salary Trends report, which shows the average salary increase in South Africa over the last year was 6.2%.
The P E Corporate Services Salary Trends report is based on over 500 benchmarked positions across all industries.
The data is gathered from over 800 organisations employing in excess of 1.5 million staff, representing over 10% of South Africa’s economically-active population.
The report also provides market data for different levels of staff in South Africa, from lower-level income to middle/line management.
Average salary increases in South Africa
The report stated that the average salary increase was 6.2%, down from 6.4% the previous year.
While there has been a downward trend in annual salary increases in South Africa, inflation has also decreased during the period.
When adjusted for inflation, the average salary increases in South Africa have improved over the past five years.
The table below shows a five-year history of annual increases in basic salaries compared with the measure used for inflation targeting.
| Salary Increases vs Inflation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Average Salary Increases | Inflation |
| 2015 | 6.9% | 4.7% |
| 2016 | 6.3% | 6.0% |
| 2017 | 6.5% | 4.6% |
| 2018 | 6.4% | 5.1% |
| 2019 | 6.2% | 4.5% |
| 5-Year Average | 6.5% | 5.1% |
Salary increases by industry
The 2019/2020 Salary Trends report further revealed that construction staff received the lowest average increase at 5.8%.
Employees in the information technology sector also saw a consistent decline in salary increases over the past five years – down from 7.2% in 2015 to 6.5% last year.
Employees at state-owned enterprises, however, received the highest average salary increase at 7.1%. This was significantly higher than most private companies.
The table below provides an overview of the average salary increases by industry over the past five years.
| Annual Salary Increase | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Clerical and Secretarial | 7.1% | 6.2% | 6.2% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Financial and Accounting | 7.2% | 6.2% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.2% |
| Information Systems | 7.0% | 6.6% | 6.8% | 6.7% | 6.5% |
| Human Resources | 7.1% | 6.2% | 6.4% | 6.5% | 6.1% |
| General Administration | 6.8% | 6.1% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 6.0% |
| Manufacturing and Operations | 7.1% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 6.6% | 6.4% |
| Technical and Engineering | 6.9% | 6.5% | 6.8% | 6.7% | 6.3% |
| Qualified Artisans | 7.2% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 6.5% | 6.3% |
| Scientists | 6.7% | 6.1% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.0% |
| Sales and Marketing/Call Centre | 7.0% | 6.1% | 6.2% | 6.3% | 5.9% |
| Average | 6.9% | 6.3% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.2% |