Recruiters are still looking to fill these jobs in South Africa

Hiring activity in South Africa may be down, but there are still jobs in South Africa that are in high-demand.

According to recruitment platform Pnet’s latest Job Market Trends report, hiring activity dropped by 19% year-on-year in March 2024.

Recruitment activity decreased from February to March 2024, which is unusual compared to the seasonal trend of the previous year, Pnet said.

“The South African recruitment market is clearly underperforming. This may be largely attributed to general concerns about political instability following the National Election on 29 May 2024,” said Pnet.

“Although the African National Congress (ANC) party won with 57% of the vote in the last national election, many polls predict that it will dip below that 50% threshold.”

Despite the fears over the election, many market commentators and political experts believe that the economy will experience “more of the same” as the ANC forms a coalition with a smaller party.

In-demand jobs

Despite the drop in hiring activity, Pnet said that there are still trending jobs that show increased demand for workers.

This includes:

• Business Analysis (Information Technology)

• Health, Safety & Environment (Admin, Office & Support)

• Executive Management (Business & Management)

• Building Project Management (Building & Construction)

• Data Analysis / Data Warehousing (Information Technology)

Sectors

On top of the most in-demand jobs, Pnet said that sector-specific activity trends can provide valuable insights into the South African economy.

Stable and increasing recruitment activity indicates confidence in the local economy and business growth.

The two trending sectors showing year-on-year growth continue to be:

Building & Construction

Hiring activity in this sector jumped by 8% when comparing Q1 2023 and Q1 2024.

Although there was lower hiring activity over the last few months of 2024, quarterly hiring was still higher than a year ago.

Architecture & Engineering

Hiring activity in this Architecture & Engineering sector jumped increased by +7% when comparing Q1 2023 and Q1 2024.

Despite hiring activity decreasing in 2024, Pnet said that the overall trend remains positive.

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