Average take-home pay declined by 5% in December 2021

BankservAfrica’s monthly salary data shows return of holiday season employment

The average BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI) declined by 5.2% year-on-year in real terms in December 2021. With the 5.9% inflation increase in December – the highest in nearly five years - the average take-home pay is not likely to stretch as far as it did a year ago. That will certainly bring bad news for the consumer.

What the BTPI number reveals, however, is that an estimated two million more payments were made than in December 2020. Part-time election officials overseeing the Municipal Elections in November 2021 would have received their remuneration in December 2021. Also there was a higher number of part-time and temporary workers employed over the holiday season which would have also contributed to the higher payment numbers. According to the BTPI data, the number of daily casual workers grew by an estimated 13% for the second consecutive month. Weekly payments increased by 5% year-on-year in December.

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