Statistics South Africa’s quarterly employment survey covering the first three months of 2026 revealed that the national average salary across the country stood at R29 997 per month, and the report highlighted 43 separate jobs whose average earnings exceeded this national benchmark.
Key Takeaways
- Wage growth outpaces headcount growth: The national average salary rose 0.9% quarter-on-quarter to R29 997, even as total formal sector employment fell 0.8%, with the steepest job losses in trade (40,000) and community services (53,000).
- Finance dominates the top earners: Of the 43 above-average jobs, the highest paying roles are concentrated in financial intermediation, led by activities auxiliary to financial intermediation at R90 560 a month, more than triple the R11 664 earned in the lowest-paying manufacturing role.
- Year-on-year salaries still climbed despite a quarterly dip: Gross salaries paid fell from R1.08 trillion to R1.04 trillion quarter-on-quarter, but rose 5.2% (about R51 billion) year-on-year between March 2025 and March 2026, showing longer-term wage growth despite short-term contraction.
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National Salary and Employment Overview
The average monthly salary recorded a modest increase since the final quarter of 2025, climbing by approximately 0.9% when compared to the previous figure of R29 738 per month.
This increase in average pay occurred alongside a decline in the total number of South Africans employed within the formal sector, which fell by roughly 0.8% relative to the preceding quarter.
What Drove the Employment Decline
The overall drop in employment numbers was largely shaped by the following factors:
- A decline of 40,000 people within the trade sector
- A decline of 53,000 people within the community services sector
- A decline of 3,000 people within the transport industry
By contrast, South Africa’s manufacturing, business services, mining and construction industries all experienced growth in employment during this period, suggesting a mixed and uneven picture across the formal economy.
Full-Time and Part-Time Employment Trends
Full-time employment fell from 9.43 million recorded in December 2025 down to 9.1 million by March 2026, a decline that was primarily driven by contraction within the trade and community services industries.
That said, certain sectors bucked this downward trend and recorded growth in full-time employment, most notably business services and mining, which saw increases of roughly 8,000 and 2,000 employees respectively.
Part-time employment also experienced a decline, dropping by approximately 50,000 people compared with the final quarter of 2025, and by 73,000 people on a year-on-year basis.
Year-on-year comparisons (rather than quarter-on-quarter figures) tend to give a clearer picture of long-term employment trends, since they naturally smooth out seasonal hiring patterns, such as retail’s festive season boost.
Only two industries managed to record increases in part-time employment during this period, with the manufacturing sector expanding by 8,000 positions and the construction sector growing by approximately 2,000 positions.
Gross Salaries Paid
The total gross salaries paid to employees across South Africa declined noticeably, moving from approximately R1.08 trillion in December 2025 down to R1.04 trillion by March 2026.
However, when measured on a year-on-year basis, salaries actually increased by 5.2% between March 2025 and March 2026, which represents an increase of approximately R51 billion in total earnings paid out.
The quarterly decrease in gross salaries paid was felt across the majority of sectors, although the mining industry stood out by reporting a slight increase during this period.
Highest Paying Jobs in South Africa
Beyond the eight major industries, the Quarterly Employment Statistics survey also examines employment statistics across approximately 20 subsections.
These subsections are mainly made up of several divisions within the manufacturing industry, along with a further split between government and non-government providers of community services.
The survey goes into even greater depth, examining employment numbers and estimated earnings for a total of 91 individual jobs spread across the eight listed sectors.
The 43 Jobs Above Average
The QES identifies 43 jobs from this broader list that pay estimated salaries higher than the national average of R29 997.
The highest salary recorded in the entire survey belonged to auxiliary services to financial intermediation, which pays approximately R90 560 per month, making it comfortably the top-earning category tracked.
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest-paying job identified was manufacturing knitted and crocheted fabrics and articles, with a monthly salary of roughly R11 664.
Many of the highest salaries identified are concentrated within the financial intermediation industry, with utility services and community services also featuring prominently near the top of the list.
The transport industry also secured several places within the top ten highest paying roles, notably including positions involved in air, sea and coastal transport services.
Other roles that ranked among the higher earners include those connected to computer technology, insurance and pension funding, as well as petroleum-related manufacturing.
Roles tied to specialised or licensed skills, such as air and sea transport, actuarial work in insurance, or petroleum engineering, tend to command higher salaries because the pool of qualified candidates is smaller relative to demand.
Meanwhile, the bottom portion of the list was largely made up of manufacturing jobs, including positions within textile production as well as basic food preservation and preparation roles.
Understanding the Industry Segments
The following breakdown describes what each industry segment in the survey actually includes:
- Mining includes mining and quarrying activities
- Manufacturing includes food and beverages, furniture, textiles, wood, printing and publishing, petroleum and chemicals, non-metals and mineral products, electrical, medical and technology-related apparatus, and transport equipment
- Electricity & Water includes electricity, gas and water supply
- Trade includes wholesale, retail, motor, hotel and restaurant activities
- Transport includes freight, storage and postal communication
- Business Services includes financial intermediation, banking, insurance and real estate
- Government includes social and personal services run by and related to the state
- NGO includes social and personal services run by and related to non-government organisations and entities
Full List: 43 Jobs Paying Above the National Average
The table below sets out all 43 jobs that currently have higher estimated salaries than the national average.
| Job Title | Sector | Average Monthly Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation | Finance | R90 560 |
| Financial intermediation (i.e. banks) except insurance and pension funding | Finance | R70 914 |
| Electricity, gas, steam and water supply | Electricity & Water | R67 269 |
| Computer and related activities | Finance | R58 699 |
| Insurance and pension funding | Finance | R57 092 |
| Air transport | Transport | R55 678 |
| Sea and coastal water transport | Transport | R51 181 |
| Extra budgetary institutions | Government | R50 741 |
| Coke oven products; petroleum refineries; processing of nuclear fuel | Manufacturing | R48 771 |
| Health and social work | NGO | R48 414 |
| Legal, accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities | Finance | R47 605 |
| Architectural, engineering and other technical activities | Finance | R47 529 |
| Collection, purification and distribution of water | Electricity & Water | R47 292 |
| Motor vehicles | Manufacturing | R46 391 |
| Electric motors, generators and transformers | Manufacturing | R45 573 |
| National departments | Government | R43 066 |
| Post and telecommunications | Transport | R42 657 |
| Medical appliances and instruments and appliances for measuring, checking, testing, navigating and for other purposes, except optical instruments | Manufacturing | R41 573 |
| Research and development | Finance | R41 559 |
| Basic chemicals | Manufacturing | R41 056 |
| Activities of membership organisation | NGO | R40 894 |
| Advertising | Finance | R39 271 |
| Universities and technikons | Government | R39 056 |
| Provincial departments | Government | R38 459 |
| Non-gold | Mining | R37 789 |
| Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock; aircraft and spacecraft | Manufacturing | R36 341 |
| Gold | Mining | R36 130 |
| Real estate activities | Finance | R36 120 |
| Supporting and auxiliary transport activities | Transport | R35 376 |
| Optical instruments and photographic equipment; watches and clocks | Manufacturing | R35 245 |
| Wholesale trade | Trade | R35 165 |
| General purpose machinery | Manufacturing | R35 045 |
| Miscellaneous chemical products | Manufacturing | R34 945 |
| Land transport and transport via pipelines | Transport | R34 715 |
| Office, accounting and computing machinery | Manufacturing | R34 251 |
| Special purpose machinery | Manufacturing | R34 162 |
| Local government | Government | R34 113 |
| Publishing | Manufacturing | R33 751 |
| Basic iron and steel | Manufacturing | R31 924 |
| Electronic valves and tubes and other electronic components; television and radio transmitters and apparatus for line telephony and line telegraphy | Manufacturing | R30 585 |
| Other educational institutions | NGO | R30 241 |
| TVET colleges | Government | R30 189 |
| Basic precious and non-ferrous metals | Manufacturing | R30 079 |
Notice how finance-related roles dominate the top half of the list, while manufacturing sub-sectors, though numerous, tend to cluster closer to the national average rather than far above it, reflecting the generally lower wage ceilings typical of production-based work compared with specialised financial and professional services.
Conclusion
South Africa’s latest employment figures paint a picture of an economy in transition, where overall formal sector jobs are shrinking even as average pay continues to inch upward, particularly within specialised, high-skill industries such as finance, transport and utilities. While sectors like trade and community services have borne the brunt of job losses, pockets of resilience in manufacturing, mining and business services suggest the labour market is not contracting uniformly but rather reshaping itself around higher-value roles. For jobseekers and policymakers alike, this divergence between headcount and earnings underscores the growing importance of skills development and sector-specific expertise in securing above-average pay in South Africa’s evolving formal economy.
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