Stagnant salaries: More financial strain as interest rates are expected to rise

Salaries are declining in real terms.

South Africans are grappling with rising living costs, stagnant salaries, and increasing debt as economists predict an interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank today.

This comes as consumers are already battling shrinking salaries, rising living costs and mounting debt. South Africa’s headline inflation rate climbed to 4% in April – a 19-month high – while PayInc said May inflation was forecast to rise further to around 4.6%.

Most economists and market commentators now expect the SARB to raise rates by 25 basis points this week, which would lift the prime lending rate from 10.25% to 10.50%.

Data released ahead of this afternoon’s Monetary Policy Committee interest rate decision paints an increasingly bleak picture for households, with higher earners now spending more than their monthly salaries servicing debt, while the buying power of wages has fallen to its lowest level in two years.