Business and management professionals are among the most in-demand employees in seven of South Africa’s nine provinces, while sales, office, and IT specialists are being snapped up in many regions too.
New research also reveals that Gauteng continues to offer the most employment opportunities in South Africa, with 53 percent of overall demand in the second quarter of this year.
During the same period, 22 percent of the country’s recruitment activity was in the Western Cape, while 10 percent of job vacancies were based in KwaZulu-Natal, states Pnet’s Job Market Trends Report for Q2:2023.
The data shows these skills to be most in-demand in South Africa’s provinces:
Jobs in Gauteng
Hiring activity increased across most sectors the province, with significant growth in hiring activity recorded in the finance, sales, and business and management sectors.
Jobs in the Western Cape
Here, there was a seven percent uptake in labour demand for IT professionals and an 11 percent increase for sales professionals during Q2.
Jobs in KZN
Demand for manufacturing staff increased by 21 percent in KZN from April to June. Business and management professionals remain high in demand.
Jobs in Limpopo
Limpopo experienced a 12 percent increase for business and management professionals during Q2:2023, the report found.
Jobs in Mpumalanga
This province has relatively high demand levels for admin, office, and support professionals, with demand for these skills growing by 15 percent.
Jobs in the Eastern Cape
In the Eastern Cape, demand for admin, office, and support staff – as well as business and management professionals, increased significantly.
Jobs in the Northern Cape
While this province experienced a significant drop in hiring activity for admin, office, and support professionals during Q2, business and management professionals remain high in demand.
Jobs in the Free State
The Free State’s labour demand for business and management professionals increased by 13 percent from Q1 to Q2.
Jobs in the North West province
Recruitment for admin professionals in the North West province declined, but business and management, as well as finance, professionals are the most sought-after here.
Employment trends in South Africa
The Pnet report also researched recruitment trends across SMEs in the country for the past year and found that the most in-demand skills within SMEs were business and management; finance; sales; admin, office, and support; and information technology. In terms of jobs, the top three in-demand roles were sales representatives, accountants, and software developers.
In a snapshot of the sales sector in South Africa, the report reveals that most of these professionals stay in their jobs for an average of three years and nine months. The research also made the following findings:
In a snapshot of the manufacturing and assembly sector, the report found that most of these workers stayed in their jobs for an average of three years and two months. The research also found the following data:
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