The CJ salary review is compiled exclusively for the South African workforce and HR/recruitment professionals, and is based on over 30,000 job listings on the CareerJunction website.
The review is published annually, presenting the opportunity to track year-on-year changes in market-related pay across 10 sectors in South Africa.
As with previous years, job seekers in KwaZulu Natal come off generally worse than those in South Africa’s two other major economic hubs – however, those in the architecture and engineering field can still expect salaries higher than the national average.
The Western Cape, on the other hand, only sees salaries above the national average in three sectors – ICT, sales and administration – with all other sectors coming in below average.
Unsurprisingly, as the country’s biggest economic hub, Gauteng salaries are larger than in other provinces, and come in consistently higher than the national average.
The figures below are based on the maximum salary offered for a skilled worker in each field, with the average regional variation (as reported by CareerJunction) applied. Numbers have been rounded.
Architecture and Engineering
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +5.0% | -12.5% | +1.5% |
| Architecture | R31 880 | R26 570 | R30 820 |
| Civil Engineering | R49 430 | R41 190 | R47 780 |
| Industrial Engineering | R49 060 | R40 880 | R47 420 |
| Electronic Engineering | R41 020 | R34 180 | R39 650 |
| Mechanical Engineering | R50 420 | R42 020 | R48 740 |
| Electrical Engineering | R45 030 | R37 530 | R43 530 |
| Engineering Drafting | R25 620 | R21 350 | R24 770 |
| Environmental engineering | R41 240 | R34 360 | R39 860 |
| Chemical engineering | R39 920 | R33 270 | R38 590 |
Building and Construction
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +2.0% | -10.5% | -1.5% |
| Consulting engineering | R44 070 | R38 670 | R42 560 |
| Quantity surveying | R34 980 | R30 690 | R33 780 |
| Electricians | R23 610 | R20 720 | R22 800 |
| Civil Engineering | R41 230 | R36 170 | R39 810 |
| Building and project management | R39 230 | R34 430 | R37 890 |
| Concrete works | R38 100 | R33 430 | R36 790 |
| Building Foreman | R29 110 | R25 550 | R28 110 |
| Construction/Demolition operator | R20 620 | R18 090 | R19 910 |
| Structural engineering | R51 440 | R45 140 | R49 680 |
Warehousing and Logistics
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +11.0% | -13.0% | -16.5% |
| Logistics management | R43 210 | R33 860 | R32 500 |
| Distribution / courier services | R15 230 | R11 940 | R11 460 |
| Warehouse operations | R18 080 | R14 170 | R13 600 |
| Route management and control | R19 910 | R15 610 | R14 980 |
| Packing and packaging | R5 310 | R4 160 | R4 000 |
| Dispatch and receiving | R11 230 | R8 800 | R8 450 |
| Air, land and sea freight | R13 990 | R10 960 | R10 520 |
Information Technology and Communication
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +1.5% | +1.5% | -22.0% |
| IT project admin and management | R45 240 | R45 240 | R34 770 |
| Software development | R44 010 | R44 010 | R33 820 |
| Systems and network admin | R31 540 | R31 540 | R24 240 |
| UX and HUI design | R37 950 | R37 950 | R29 160 |
| Data analysis and warehousing | R40 400 | R40 400 | R31 050 |
| Network planning, design and installation | R28 750 | R28 750 | R22 100 |
| Database design, development and admin | R36 730 | R36 730 | R28 230 |
| Business analysis | R44 490 | R44 490 | R34 190 |
| Technical and business architecture | R54 190 | R54 190 | R41 640 |
| Systems analysis | R40 410 | R40 410 | R31 050 |
| IT Management | R58 990 | R58 990 | R45 330 |
| Product specialist | R31 980 | R31 980 | R24 570 |
Finance
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +3.0% | -14.5% | -11.0% |
| Financial management | R66 930 | R55 560 | R57 840 |
| Purchasing and procurement | R29 320 | R24 340 | R25 330 |
| Actuary | R44 690 | R37 100 | R38 620 |
| Portfolio management | R36 340 | R30 170 | R31 400 |
| Insurance advisory | R18 370 | R15 140 | R15 880 |
| Management accounting | R43 470 | R36 090 | R37 570 |
| Internal auditing | R38 410 | R31 880 | R33 190 |
| Bookkeeping | R19 100 | R15 850 | R16 500 |
| Payroll and wages | R20 570 | R17 070 | R17 770 |
| Accounts payable and receivable | R21 170 | R17 570 | R18 290 |
| Asset management | R33 520 | R27 830 | R28 970 |
| Chartered accounting | R45 560 | R37 820 | R39 370 |
| Taxation | R41 780 | R34 680 | R36 100 |
| Risk management | R42 180 | R35 010 | R36 450 |
| Investment banking | R31 720 | R26 330 | R27 410 |
| Treasury management | R37 650 | R31 260 | R32 540 |
Marketing
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +4.5% | -12.5% | -12.0% |
| Marketing assistance | R19 170 | R16 050 | R16 140 |
| Advertising | R18 750 | R15 700 | R15 790 |
| Brand management | R33 980 | R28 450 | R28 610 |
| Product management | R32 250 | R27 010 | R27 160 |
| Market research and analysis | R29 500 | R24 700 | R24 840 |
| Communications and public relations | R23 890 | R20 000 | R20 110 |
Medical
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +10.0% | -2.0% | n/a |
| Dietitian/Nutrition | R20 810 | R18 540 | – |
| Nursing/Professional Care giving | R25 650 | R22 850 | – |
| Medical assistance and support | R29 390 | R26 190 | – |
| Therapist | R28 780 | R25 640 | – |
| General Practitioner | R50 070 | R44 610 | – |
| Pharmacist | R39 710 | R35 380 | – |
| Hospital Management | R67 320 | R59 970 | – |
Sales
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +10.0% | +4.5% | -6.5% |
| Telesales and telemarketing | R15 880 | R15 080 | R13 500 |
| Sales management | R41 610 | R39 530 | R35 370 |
| Travel agent | R21 110 | R20 050 | R17 940 |
| Short-term life and medical insurance brokering | R21 320 | R20 250 | R18 120 |
| Retail | R16 270 | R15 460 | R13 830 |
| Representative sales consulting | R19 990 | R18 990 | R16 990 |
| Real estate and property agent | R21 100 | R20 040 | R17 930 |
| Merchandiser, product promoter and demonstrator | R12 200 | R11 590 | R10 370 |
| Account management | R19 500 | R18 530 | R16 580 |
Administration, Office and Support
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +7.5% | +3.0% | -13.5% |
| Office Management | R42 570 | R40 790 | R34 250 |
| Teller & Cashier | R8 250 | R7 910 | R6 640 |
| Client and Customer support | R16 010 | R15 340 | R12 880 |
| Personal Assistant | R20 600 | R19 740 | R16 580 |
| Admin Clerk | R13 950 | R13 370 | R11 230 |
| Secretary | R23 140 | R22 170 | R18 620 |
| Health safety and Environment | R23 260 | R22 290 | R18 720 |
| Switchboard & Reception | R11 000 | R10 540 | R8 850 |
| Call center supervisor | R15 170 | R14 530 | R12 210 |
| Call center operator | R13 500 | R12 940 | R10 870 |
| Human Resources officer | R22 150 | R21 230 | R17 830 |
| Data Capturing | R9 750 | R9 340 | R7 850 |
Manufacturing and Assembly
| Job | GP Salary | WC Salary | KZN Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Variation | +3.0% | -1.0% | -2.5% |
| Plant management | R57 210 | R54 990 | R54 150 |
| Tool and dye making | R29 650 | R28 500 | R28 070 |
| Artisan | R25 870 | R24 860 | R24 490 |
| Quality Control and assurance | R20 600 | R19 800 | R19 500 |
| Metallurgy and boiler making | R21 410 | R20 580 | R20 260 |
| Machinist | R22 590 | R21 720 | R21 390 |
| Materials control | R24 640 | R23 690 | R23 330 |
| Plant and production control | R20 900 | R20 090 | R19 790 |
| Printing | R14 230 | R13 680 | R13 470 |
| Food processing and tech | R17 630 | R16 940 | R16 690 |
| Process control | R19 670 | R18 900 | R18 620 |