These are the most in-demand job skills in South Africa right now

 ·30 Oct 2023

Despite new data from jobs portal CareerJunction showing overall hiring activity declined compared to last year, there are some jobs in hot demand right now in South Africa.

The company’s latest Industry Report showed that compared to the year before, September 2023 marked a notable 13% decline in hiring, while activity was down by a notable 12% compared to July 2023.

According to the group, this downturn has been driven by a sharp drop in hiring activity for Admin, Office & Support professionals.

The report offers an in-depth analysis of the online employment market in South Africa, focusing on the supply and demand for various occupations.

The data for the report was gathered from 5,000 of the country’s largest recruiters, agencies, and employers who advertise job positions on the CareerJunction portal.

When comparing hiring activity over the last three months (July, August, September 2023) with the previous three months (April, May, June 2023), CareerJunction reported there is an uptake in recruitment for Building & Construction:

Building & Construction (+22%)

  • Building Project Management

The data further showed that the Admin, Office & Support and Information technology sectors have seen the biggest decline in hiring activity over the past three months.

Admin, office & support (-11%)

  • Teller/ cashier
  • Human resources
  • Switchboard/ Reception
  • Secretary
  • Admin clerk

Information technology (-2%)

  • IT project administration / management

Regional differences

CareerJunction also reported that recruitment per province in South Africa remained static.

The group said that Gauteng still offers the majority of South Africa’s job opportunities (52%) as the economic hub of the country, despite a decline of 2%.

The following 32% of job offers are in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal combined. The Western Cape has the second largest percentage at 22%.

Across the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, demand for Admin, Office & Support professionals increased significantly from July–September 2021 to July–September 2022.

Since September 2022, however, hiring activity in this sector has decreased year-on-year. Gauteng has seen a decline of -12%; KwaZulu-Natal has seen a decline of -19%; and the Western Cape has seen a decline of -8%.

Other notable points where that demand for Sales has remained relatively consistent year-on-year, while in Gauteng and the Western Cape, demand for Warehousing & Logistics professionals has continued to grow slightly.


Business & Management

CareerJunction further highlighted significant job opportunity growth, mostly in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

It reported that scarce skills in the sector include:

  • Financial Manager
  • Business Development Manager
  • Sales Manager

Some market-related salaries applicants can expect in the field include:

  • Branch Manager – (R27,153 to R35,982 per month)
  • Production Manager – (R43,491 to R52,045 per month)
  • Recruitment Consultant – (R15,125 to R23,734 per month)

Read: New court ruling a huge win for parental leave in South Africa

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