Stats SA’s Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) identified 44 occupations that earned more than the national average monthly wage of R30,611 in the second quarter of 2026. The survey, released by BusinessTech, shows which jobs are pulling ahead of the overall pay trend.
The average wage rose 2.6% quarter-on-quarter (compared with the previous three-month period) and 4.1% year-on-year (compared with the same quarter last year). At the same time, total employment slipped by 14,000 jobs quarter-on-quarter, a 0.1% decline, and fell by 95,000 jobs year-on-year, a 0.9% drop.
Gross earnings paid to employees fell R4.8 billion quarter-on-quarter to R1.025 trillion, even though basic salaries and overtime grew. Basic salaries and wages rose roughly R15.5 billion (1.7% quarter-on-quarter) and R26.7 billion (3% year-on-year). Overtime payments increased by R2.7 billion, but gross bonuses collapsed by R23 billion, a 26.9% quarter-on-quarter fall.
High-paying occupations
Finance topped the list, with the activity “auxiliary to financial intermediation” recorded as the highest-paying job. Jobs in electricity and transport also featured among the top earners, while several finance-related roles appeared at the upper end of the distribution. By contrast, the lower end of the list was dominated by manufacturing jobs, especially those involved in making clothes or fabrics.
The QES tracks data from eight broad sectors and 20 sub-sections, covering 91 distinct jobs in the formal economy. In the first quarter of 2026, 43 jobs paid above the national average; the addition of “manufacturing of radio receivers and recording devices” in Q2 brought the total to 44.
For small-business owners and entrepreneurs, the data signals where wage pressures may be strongest. If you operate in finance, electricity or transport, you may need to budget for higher payroll costs than the national average suggests. Conversely, businesses in low-pay manufacturing may find labour comparatively cheaper, but they also face the risk of lower productivity and higher turnover if wages lag behind broader trends.
While basic pay and overtime are rising, the sharp drop in bonuses indicates that total compensation packages are being reshaped. Companies that rely heavily on performance-linked payouts may need to adjust incentive structures to retain staff.
What remains uncertain is how these trends will evolve as the economy reacts to the employment decline and the ongoing cost-of-living pressures. The QES will continue to publish quarterly updates, which will be the best guide for businesses planning their wage strategies.
The top five, and what sits at the bottom
Five occupations clear R50,000 a month: activities auxiliary to financial intermediation leads at R77,409, followed by electricity, gas, steam and water supply at R67,677, air transport at R62,160, banks (financial intermediation other than insurance and pension funding) at R59,562, and computer and related activities at R58,051. The new entrant that pushed the list from 43 to 44 jobs, manufacturing of television and radio receivers and sound or video recording equipment, sits near the bottom of the list that clears the average, at R31,938, just above publishing at R31,197.
We reported on the QES release itself when it came out: formal employers cut 14,000 jobs in the quarter, with the losses concentrated in manufacturing and business services. This list of 44 occupations is the same release, read differently: the jobs paying well above average sit mostly in finance, electricity and transport, which is a smaller slice of a workforce that is shrinking fastest in manufacturing and business services.
The QES groups jobs into eight broad sectors (agriculture, mining, manufacturing, electricity and water, construction, trade, transport and business services, plus government and NGOs) before breaking each into the sub-sections and occupations behind this list. A small business weighing where to hire, or what a role should pay, can use the full table as a benchmark for its own sector rather than relying on the single national average, which this list shows can be misleading in either direction depending on what a business actually does.
