The Squeezed Middle: Why South Africa’s Middle Class is Losing Confidence.
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Guest: Nomvelo Moima – Junior Economist, Bureau for Economic Research (BER)
South Africa’s Consumer Confidence Index has slipped further into the red at -13 for the third quarter, but it’s the middle class that’s really feeling the squeeze. Confidence among households earning between R5,000 and R20,000 a month has dropped sharply from -7 to -16, reflecting the mounting strain of high food inflation, weak job creation, shrinking two-pot retirement payouts, and rising living costs.
Nomvelo Moima unpacks why the middle class is bearing the brunt compared to low- and high-income earners, the paradox of pessimism despite easing interest rates and modest economic growth, and what these diverging confidence levels say about South Africa’s uneven recovery.
South Africa’s Consumer Confidence Index has slipped further into the red at -13 for the third quarter, but it’s the middle class that’s really feeling the squeeze. Confidence among households earning between R5,000 and R20,000 a month has dropped sharply from -7 to -16, reflecting the mounting strain of high food inflation, weak job creation, shrinking two-pot retirement payouts, and rising living costs.
Nomvelo Moima unpacks why the middle class is bearing the brunt compared to low- and high-income earners, the paradox of pessimism despite easing interest rates and modest economic growth, and what these diverging confidence levels say about South Africa’s uneven recovery.
