While the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Well, at least that’s what they say.

The latest statistics from BankservAfrica Disposable Salary Index (BDSI) show something else altogether.

Although the number of people earning more than R100 000 has increased from 5 000 in 2013 to over 11 000 people now, the statistics suggest that salary earners in the formal sector are actually declining. It’s those who have kept their jobs that see the substantial increase.

Released on Wednesday, there’s a few positives being shown.

One is that the average South African salary increased just above estimated inflation, recording a 6.7% year-on-year growth.

Another is that the number of people receiving less than R4 000 per month has decreased, now sitting at under 17% while – four years ago it was around 21%.

And then, to round it off, the lowest take-home salary group also declined nearly 13% in the same period.

Now we just need to work on closing that income gap a little more.

[source: fin24]