Inflation continues to eat away at disposable income

JOHANNESBURG - The buying power of South African workers are on the decline.

In fact, the Bureau for Economic Research shows it's dropped by a whopping 4.6 percent.

That's due to salary increases not keeping up with inflation.

That's set to continue this year with inflation forecast to climb to at least 5.3 percent.

WATCH: INFLATION TRENDS AND INSIGHTS | JUNE CPI EASED TO 5.1% YEAR-ON-YEAR

BER senior economist, Shannon Bold, said the rand has performed well recently.

"But I think last year was particularly bad. Food inflation was in the double digits, there were a lot of risks around food inflation," she said.

"Interest rates were increased. All of that means you have less disposable income left for spending.

"But hopefully we'll see inflation come down."