Pnet 2026 Salary Guide: Insights for job roles across 11 sectors
Pnet 2026 Salary Guide: Insights for job roles across 11 sectors
Pnet, South Africa’s leading online recruitment platform, has released its Pnet Job Market Trends Report, including the 2026 Salary Guide. This essential analysis offers salary ranges for more than 100 roles across 11 different job sectors, helping employers and professionals make informed decisions in a fast-changing labour market.
Based on actual salary offerings from thousands of vacancies posted across the company’s online recruitment platforms, the data represents national averages for each job role. The analysis provides a legitimate salary guideline for recruiters and employers and gives professionals insights into fair, market-related salaries for their roles.
Remuneration may vary by region, level of experience and specific skill sets, but the insights offer an indicator of market-related salary expectations in 2026. The data shows that executive managers and directors have the highest earning power, with cost-to-company salaries ranging from R83 000 to R125 000 per month. Finance, engineering and technology roles are also well compensated.
Here is a selection of per-month, cost-to-company salary ranges for common job roles:
Note: A full list is available in the report here.
| Business & Management | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Executive Manager / Director | R83 333 | R125 000 |
| Financial Manager | R48 237 | R70 260 |
| Marketing Manager | R35 000 | R68 163 |
| Finance | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Financial / Project Accountant | R30 000 | R40 000 |
| Cost & Management Accountant | R36 250 | R47 000 |
| Bookkeeper | R20 000 | R25 000 |
| Admin, Office & Support | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Admin Clerk | R14 000 | R16 667 |
| Personal Assistant | R20 000 | R30 000 |
| Office Manager | R20 000 | R26 350 |
| Information Technology | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Solutions Architect | R41 667 | R52 500 |
| Front End Developer | R40 000 | R50 000 |
| IT Project Manager | R31 000 | R50 000 |
| Building & Construction | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Quantity Surveyor | R40 000 | R54 583 |
| Consulting Engineer | R40 000 | R70 417 |
| Structural Engineer | R47 500 | R66 667 |
| Manufacturing & Assembly | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Boilermaker | R17 500 | R30 000 |
| Machinist | R10 000 | R13 000 |
| Plant Manager | R45 000 | R77 500 |
| Architecture & Engineering | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Architectural Draughtsman | R20 000 | R25 000 |
| Structural Engineer | R47 500 | R66 667 |
| Civil Engineer | R50 000 | R65 833 |
| Sales | (CTC) per month (excluding commission and performance bonuses) | |||
| Job role | From | To | ||
| Sales Administrator | R15 000 | R20 000 | ||
| Sales Coordinator | R18 000 | R23 500 | ||
| Representative / Sales Consultant | R18 000 | R25 000 | ||
| Marketing | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Brand Manager | R30 000 | R44 999 |
| Product Manager | R35 000 | R45 000 |
| Social Media Content Creator | R18 000 | R25 000 |
| Design & Publishing | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Graphic Designer | R15 000 | R26 000 |
| Web Designer | R20 000 | R37 500 |
| Copywriter | R20 000 | R30 000 |
| Warehousing & Logistics | (CTC) per month | |
| Job role | From | To |
| Warehouse Supervisor | R20 000 | R24 000 |
| Fleet Controller | R17 750 | R21 000 |
| Logistics Manager | R28 500 | R40 529 |
Conclusion
“The 2026 Pnet Salary Guide provides employers and professionals with a data-backed view of what market-related salaries look like across a range of roles and sectors,” says Anja Bates, Head of Data at Pnet. “Drawn from thousands of vacancies across our platforms, these insights provide employers with a clear understanding of market-aligned salaries, supporting more competitive hiring and retention of high-quality candidates with rare skills.
“For jobseekers and professionals, this data can help them ensure that they are receiving market-related offers for their qualifications and experience. To fully benefit from these insights, professionals are encouraged to ensure their online profiles are accurate, complete and up to date. In a competitive labour market, a well-maintained profile is a critical tool for staying visible and getting hired.”
ENDS
About the Pnet Job Market Trends Report
The Pnet Job Market Trends Report provides insights into recruitment and employment trends in the South African market. Developed to give local businesses a useful summary of the monthly trends shaping the recruitment market, the report also unpacks sector-specific insights – from both an employer and candidate perspective.
The Pnet Job Market Trends Report is created and interpreted by an expert team of data insights specialists. The report is based on empirical data sourced from Stepstone Group South Africa’s online recruitment platforms, which currently hold a combined database of over 11 million registered users. For data-related queries, reach out to insights@pnet.co.za.
About Pnet
Founded in 1997 and now part of global job-tech giant, The Stepstone Group, Pnet has helped transform South Africa’s online recruitment sector. Pnet’s mission, under the leadership of The Stepstone Group, is to, “Find the Right Job for Everyone”. Using one of the world’s leading next-generation recruitment platforms, we use AI and smart-matching technologies to disrupt the way talent and businesses connect and make the unseen potential visible. With a community of over 5,000 recruiters and a database of over 8 million registered jobseekers, Pnet is the go-to platform for employment opportunity and recruitment needs.
Pnet is about making connections that work. Our technology platform is an empowering online space where recruiters can find the right talent to help their companies succeed, and jobseekers can find work that helps them discover purpose, meaning, and joy in their everyday lives.
Although we are a data-driven enterprise, our tech is built for people’s needs, wants and ambitions, and people will always be at the core of our business.
For more information visit https://www.pnet.co.za/ .
