Statistics Botswana’s quarterly Labour Force Module which shows results for data collected in the third quarter of 2023 (July to September 2023) reveals the monthly average cash earning by occupation for wage earners amongst many others. According to the report, the average earnings for managers were the highest at P21, 942 followed by Professional and Technicians and Associate Professionals with P19, 653 and P13, 725 respectively. The reports also states that basic occupations average earnings were lowest at P1, 393. Moreover, the report which presents information on employment, unemployment, and wages from the formal sector further disclosed that non-citizens earn more than citizens with the former getting P15, 863 average earnings compared to an estimated P7, 296 for the latter. For both citizens and non-citizens, on average it is P7, 692 for all employees. In terms of gender, male employees’ average monthly cash earnings were estimated at P8, 668 compared to P6, 815 for their female counterparts in the formal sector.
Despite this disparity, the report shows that females earn more than male counterparts in industries like mining and quarrying, transport & storage, finance and insurance activities and activities of extraterritorial organisations. In one case of shocking gender disparity, a male in real estate activities P44, 930 while his female counterpart earns a meagre P6, 160. However, when it comes to comparing industries, the report showed that a person working activities of extraterritorial organisations can earn up to P51, 075 as of the fourth quarter of 2023. Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing on the other side has the lowest earners with a person getting P2, 858 monthly on average. “Comparing the fourth quarter of 2022 (October to December 2022) estimated average cash earning from the QMTS Formal Sector Employment (FSE) with the third quarter of 2023 shows that there was an increase in average earnings, an increase of 13.1 percent. The estimated third quarter of 2023 formal sector employment monthly average cash earnings for wage earners was P7, 692, compared with P6, 803, which was estimated for the fourth quarter of 2022,” the report further stated.
