By: Natasha Archary
A staggering 73% of South African adults earn below R6 000 a month, according to new research, once again highlighting the country’s yawning pay gap.
Professor Carel van Aardt, Research Director at the Bureau of Market Research, shares with Gugulethu Mfuphi the findings from the Household Wealth Research Division of the Bureau’s latest report.
The report found that only 3.3% of the country’s adults earn more than R625 992 per annum, or R52 170 per month.
Van Aardt says the report on personal income has estimated that 73% of South Africans are earning less than R73 351 per year, which is below R6 000 per month.
“The report shows that a large number of South Africans are working either in the informal sector of the economy, or even those in the formal sector have menial jobs.
Women are also getting the short end of the stick with income inequality, and remain at the lower end of cash flow income earnings.
It is estimated that 47.3% of the adult population are male, and they earn approximately 58.5% of the income in the country.”
The report from 2018 to 2022, shows a clear picture of income inequality with low income earners accounting for just 10% of the cash flow income, while high-income earners take home 44.8%.
In contrast, 23% of adults in South Africa rely on grants as a source of income.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz:
Also read: Unemployment rate has decreased by 0,3 to 32,6% in Q2, according to StatsSA
