By Loushe Jordaan Gilbert
As South Africans try to make ends meet, middle-class employees are also feeling the pinch of the ever-increasing cost of living, coupled with unstable fuel prices.
In 2023, research from the Liberty Institute of Strategic Marketing at the University of Cape Town revealed that a household or individual in South Africa would need to earn about R22,000 per month to be considered middle class.
Speaking on VOC Breakfast on Friday, economist Dawie Roodt said there are other ways to determine what constitutes the middle class, irrespective of income.
“I think a good definition of someone who falls into the bracket of the ‘middle class’ should be someone who holds a qualification, whether they have a job or not, as they would eventually be able to generate money to sow into the economy,” he said.
Roodt further stated that a good set of values and a support system are also factors that should be considered when defining the working class.
“If you are honest, trustworthy, and have parents who are financially stable and can assist you during a rough financial patch, that should also put you into the bracket of the middle class,” he stressed.
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