Cost of Living in SA Increases, South Africans Feel They Don't Earn Enough for Food

• South Africa just keeps getting more expensive, according to the latest report from Statistics South Africa
• The report revealed that individuals in South Africa now have to spend R624 per month on groceries to meet their daily energy intake
• Stats SA released new adjusted national poverty lines that look at how much South Africans need to spend to meet their needs

JOHANNESBURG - Statistics South Africa issued reported that should that South Africa's national poverty lines have increased in the past year.

The report released on Thursday indicated that the national poverty lines increased largely because the cost of living in South Africa has also increased in the past year, according to News24.

The basic goal of national poverty lines is to give a tool for measuring money-metric poverty statistically.

Read also

Telkom says Netflix deal will not be renewed for its smart TV device

The food poverty line has seen an increase of R39 in the past year, putting it R624 from R585. The food poverty line refers to how much an individual would need to spend on groceries per month to meet the daily energy intake.

The lower bound poverty line is now R890, it looks at the food poverty line, including the average amount that comes from non-food goods of households whose total spending is the same as the food poverty line.

The upper bound line includes the food poverty line and as well as the average amount that comes from non-food goods by households whose food spending is equivalent to the food poverty line and is now R1 335 per individual every month.

In 2015, over 13.8 million South Africans were living below the food poverty line, which fell from a high of 16.7 million in 2009. That is approximately 25% of South Africa's population.

Read also

R7 900 is what the average South African needs to have a good living standard

Earlier this year, Stats SA announced that the cost of food, petrol and medical services were on the rise in South Africa, according to TimesLIVE.

South Africans don't feel their salaries are enough

We asked Briefly News readers on our Facebook page if they felt their salaries we enough to cover the cost of living and they shared their views with us.

A lot of people shared that their salaries we not for them and their families. Others shared that they don't have salaries to spend due to the rife unemployment rate in South Africa.

Vusilizwe Vusi commented:

"No, my salary doesn't accommodate my living...I'm living with wife and kid and I roughly spend + - R4 000 on grocery every month and still not enough!"

Johvnnes Crystal Manyaka commented:

"From hearing this statement I feel emotional due to lack of opportunities, the salary my mom earns is breaking me In tears it's not enough though I'll make it change for a better life to be lived."

Read also

City of Cape Town plans to pump money out to assist homeless people, budgeted R27 million

Phumi Shabalala commented:

"Salaries???? What salaries???? Do you forget that some of us a re shumi [don't work]?

Thabani Dlamini commented:

"Nope they must also increase salaries so that people can afford basic goods and services or else we will observe high percentage of crime in our country as well inequality."

MrMaromane Dkhales commented:

"Trully Speaking admin Everything is expensive in SA even grocery of doesn't last a month."

Kwazieh Norboy Zwane commented:

"Nah it's not enough, I mean everything is going up u name them tax, petrol, food prices and etc..."

Analysis: South Africa's high unemployment rate, where is it heading?

Briefly News previously reported that South Africa's unemployment rate keeps gradually increasing and it is not showing signs of falling which has been reflected in the latest figures from the Statistic South Africa's survey.

The new unemployment rate has put South Africa at the top of the global list of 82 countries with the highest unemployment rate, according to Aljazeera. Over seven million South Africans currently do not have jobs with black women being the most affected at 41%.

Although South Africa has one of the largest economies on the African continent, it remains at the top with the highest unemployment rate for young people. According to Finance Yahoo, the employment rate of young people aged between 15 and 24 is currently at 64.4% and people aged 25 and 34 at 42.9%.

Source: Briefly News