Nearly half of South Africans feel underpaid, says recruiter

Nearly half of working professionals feel grossly underpaid, and 48% believe their salaries are not a true reflection of the work they do, according to recruitment platform Job Crystal. Despite Stats SA’s latest Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) for the third quarter of 2025 showing average salaries reaching record highs, Job Crystal says many South Africans are still living paycheque to paycheque. Job Crystal’s data shows Johannesburg salaries are typically more than 10% higher than Cape Town’s, largely due to legacy corporate structures and the concentration of head offices in the city.

Sectors requiring scarce skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) or higher qualifications command higher salaries due to talent competition, in comparison to call centres and commission-based sales roles that rely heavily on incentives. “Salary benchmarking is an HR exercise for sure, but it is also a valuable business growth strategy. Don’t get the salary offer right from the start and you could save over 30 hours of recruiting and six months of training, only to lose the employee and start over,” says Sasha Knott, CEO of AI recruitment platform Job Crystal.

One of the biggest benefits of salary benchmarking is in helping to close South Africa’s gender pay gap. While some progress has been made on this front, South African women still earn roughly 24% less than men on average, according to a 2025 Discovery Corporate report. The gap widens in mid- to senior-level roles, although junior-level salaries appear more equitable.

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Flexibility also plays a role. Women frequently take remote or hybrid roles to balance work and family, sometimes accepting slightly lower pay in exchange for flexibility. Knott suggests that companies can start closing the gap by:

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