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This is 3.4% higher than the R28,322 recorded in the first quarter of the year.
Year-on-year average monthly earnings paid to employees increased by 6.5% between May 2024 and May 2025, Stats SA noted.
Gross earnings increased by R2.2 billion or 0.2% from R984.7 billion in March 2025 to R986.8 billion in June 2025.
Basic salary/wages increased by 2.5% over the quarter, while bonuses decreased by 25.4%. This reflects the expected change in seasonal bonus pay. Overtime, however, also declined by 1.0% over the period.
According to the more detailed breakdown of salary data, as the average has climbed higher, the number of jobs that pay in line with the average has decreased.
The QES covers eight key industries or sectors in South Africa, which are split further into 20 sub-categories, mainly made up of various manufacturing sectors, as well as a split between government and non-government community and social services.
The dataset breaks these numbers down further, covering earning estimates across over 90 job types in the formal, non-agricultural sector.
Notably, of the 90 or so jobs covered by the survey, 43 job types paid higher than the national average over the quarter.
The highest average was R72,591 per month for those working in financial intermediation and related activities.
This is followed by those working in electricity, gas, steam and water supply, where the average earnings were R63,262 per month.
Utility salaries typically rank among the highest-paying jobs in the country fairly consistently.
Eskom’s recent financial results revealed that the average employee at the group earned R870,000 per year, or R72,500 per month, lining up with the data.
Other high-paying jobs include those working in computer and related business services, air transport and health and social work.
Looking at the other end of the list, apparel and knitted textile manufacturers are the lowest earners on average, at R11,578 per month.
This is below those working in hotels and restaurants (R11,815) and sawmilling (R12,281). Looking at the average salary cut-off, paper and paper product manufacturers earned just above the average salary at R29,894 per month.
The table below outlines the 43 jobs that currently pay more than the national average:
| # | Job | Sector | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation | Business Services | R72,591 |
| 2 | Electricity, gas, steam and water supply | Electricity & Water | R63,262 |
| 3 | Computer and related activities | Business Services | R56,629 |
| 4 | Financial intermediation (i.e. Banks), except insurance and pension funding | Business Services | R54,992 |
| 5 | Air transport | Transport | R54,820 |
| 6 | Extra Budgetary institutions | Government | R50,489 |
| 7 | Health and social work | NGO | R48,465 |
| 8 | Insurance and pension funding | Business Services | R47,898 |
| 9 | Coke oven products; petroleum refineries; processing of nuclear fuel | Manufacturing | R47,484 |
| 10 | Architectural, engineering and other technical activities | Business Services | R46,394 |
| 11 | Motor vehicles | Manufacturing | R45,800 |
| 12 | Sea and coastal water transport | Transport | R43,157 |
| 13 | Legal, accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities | Business Services | R43,131 |
| 14 | Electric motors, generators and transformers | Manufacturing | R42,357 |
| 15 | Post and telecommunications | Transport | R42,336 |
| 16 | Collection, purification and distribution of water | Electricity & Water | R40,911 |
| 17 | National departments | Government | R40,348 |
| 18 | Research and development | Business Services | R40,271 |
| 19 | Medical appliances and instruments, etc | Manufacturing | R39,016 |
| 20 | Real estate activities | Business Services | R38,606 |
| 21 | Advertising | Business Services | R38,558 |
| 22 | Provincial departments | Government | R37,588 |
| 23 | Activities of membership organisation | NGO | R37,543 |
| 24 | Basic chemicals | Manufacturing | R36,815 |
| 25 | Universities and technikons | Government | R36,522 |
| 26 | Non-gold | Mining | R35,756 |
| 27 | Optical instruments and photographic equipment; watches and clocks | Manufacturing | R35,601 |
| 28 | Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock; aircraft and spacecraft | Manufacturing | R35,383 |
| 29 | Gold | Mining | R34,166 |
| 30 | Supporting and auxiliary transport activities | Transport | R34,066 |
| 31 | General purpose machinery | Manufacturing | R33,753 |
| 32 | Wholesale trade | Trade | R33,653 |
| 33 | Other chemical products | Manufacturing | R33,474 |
| 34 | Basic iron and steel | Manufacturing | R33,281 |
| 35 | Special purpose machinery | Manufacturing | R32,812 |
| 36 | Office, accounting and computing machinery | Manufacturing | R32,626 |
| 37 | Local government | Government | R31,804 |
| 38 | Basic precious and non-ferrous metals | Manufacturing | R31,714 |
| 39 | Publishing | Manufacturing | R30,843 |
| 40 | Other educational institutions | NGO | R30,681 |
| 41 | Land transport and transport via pipelines | Transport | R30,516 |
| 42 | Television and radio receivers, sound or video recording, etc | Manufacturing | R30,322 |
| 43 | Paper and paper products | Manufacturing | R29,894 |
The following describes the industry segments.
- Mining includes mining and quarrying
- 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 restaurants
- Transport includes freight, storage and postal communication
- Business services include financial intermediation, banking, insurance and real estate
- Government includes social and personal services run by and related to the state
- NGO include social and personal services run by and related to non-government organisations and entities.
Issued on BusinessTech by Staff Writer | https://businesstech.co.za/news/wealth/839170/43-jobs-that-pay-higher-than-the-average-salary-in-south-africa/
