Black middle class on the rise
9 November 2004
New research shows that there is a burgeoning black middle class in South Africa – with a significant boost to the number of black South Africans entering the middle-income brackets.
The research, commissioned by the Financial Mail, shows that almost 300 000 black South Africans have become middle-income earners over the last three years. It also says that 500 000 upped their class status to the lower middle-income group.
Black spending power on the up - A recent report says motor vehicles, furniture, clothing, media, property and cellphone retailers are all benefiting from SA's booming "buppie" class.
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While the numbers are small - especially compared to the 4-million unemployed in the country - they are considered the first hard evidence that the country's racially divided economy is moving towards equilibrium.
The study used the benchmark of an average household income of between
R6 455 per month and R11 566 per month to indicate middle class status.
The research process was simple. The South African Advertising and Research Foundation (Saarf) was asked to run a historical comparison of racial breakdowns of the Living Standards Measure (LSM) categories.
LSM measures socio-economic status using a range of measurements, such as monthly income and access to running water, education and transport.
The LSM 8 category has an average household income of R8.471 per month, whereas those falling in LSM 6 have an average income of R4 075 per month. The benchmark for the study was
the LSM 7-9 group, the Sunday Times reports.
Another recent study, this time conducted by Unisa's Bureau for Market Research (BMR), picked up similar trends.
The BMR's latest household expenditure survey found that the highest percentage increases in household expenditure by black consumers between 1993 and 2003 were on education (up 21.4% per year) and domestic workers (up 23.4% per year).
The main increases in expenditure were on holidays or weekends away (up 44% per year over the period); recreation (up 29%); cigarettes and tobacco (up 25%); housing and electricity (20%); and savings (up 18%).
According to the BRM, although 95% of the poorest 20% of all households in the country are black, 38% of the top-earning 20% of households are also black.
Data from Saarf also shows that the number of black people in the LSM 10 (R18 649 per month) bracket has more than doubled to 6.3%.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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