Here's how much the average government employee earns
It might be time to start looking into government job opportunities...
The cost of living crisis is affecting most South Africans – from rising petrol and electricity prices to staple food items like bread becoming almost unaffordable for the average citizen.
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According to BusinessTech's research on public service employee salaries in South Africa, the average public employee earns R41,200 per month.
This is R14,400 above the national average, which includes both public and private sector earnings.
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Data from the 2024 compensation and employment report by the National Treasury underscores a persistent wage gap, revealing that the average government salary has consistently exceeded the national average by over R10,000 since at least 2019.
According to the Treasury, the significant gap between public-sector and national wages is largely attributed to the government’s historical efforts to attract and retain skilled professionals in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, social welfare, and security.
Over the past 30 years, the public-service remuneration structures have undergone significant reform, with competitive salaries and a comprehensive range of benefits – including pensions, bonuses, and medical subsidies – forming the foundation of these efforts.
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These reforms have played a key role in driving the higher monthly earnings of government employees.
Building on their findings, BusinessTech further calculated that the average government employee can afford to purchase a house valued at up to R1.8 million and a car priced at up to R372,000.
Home loan affordability for government employees
Richard Gray, CEO of Harcourts South Africa, says that banks prefer lending to home buyers whose monthly bond cost is no more than 30% of their single or joint gross monthly income.
This threshold has been a common measure of loan affordability among SA banks for some time.
Gray emphasised that adhering to the 30% guideline ensures that home buyers maintain a balanced financial portfolio, allowing room for other expenses and savings. Gray also noted that this threshold is important because it also leaves room for additional monthly payments to be made into a home loan account.
By using Absa's bond calculator for a 20-year home loan period and an interest rate of 11,25%, they worked out the price and monthly bond repayment amount the average government employee can afford.
Calculating what cars government employees can afford
Industry experts recommend buyers not spend more than 25% of their monthly income on vehicle-related costs, including fuel, insurance premiums, and car instalments.
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BusinessTech then calculated what government employees could afford on their salary, assuming people would not spend more than 20% of their gross monthly income on vehicle financing.
Using the Wesbank repayments calculator, they factored in a 0% deposit for car financing to determine the potential purchasing power.
Using these calculations, here are some of the options:
Mazda 2 1.5 Dynamic auto – R371,300
Haval Jolion 1.5T City Plus – R370,950
Volkswagen Polo hatch 1.0TSI – R366,500
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Main image courtesy of GCIS