Employers are looking to fill these jobs in South Africa

Hiring activity in South Africa may be down, but several jobs are still in high demand.
According to Pnet’s latest Job Markets Trends Report, local hiring activity was down by 11% from July to August 2024, signalling a slowing hiring market.
Year-on-year hiring activity also decreased by 13% compared to August 2023.
The trend for the two-year comparison reveals that recruitment activity has reduced by 11% compared to August 2022.
Despite the drop, there are still jobs that are showing increased demand for workers and professionals. With accounting skills remaining top in demand:
- Internal Auditing (Finance)
- Executive Management / Director (Business & Management)
- Human Resources (Admin, Office & Support)
- Data Analysis / Data Warehousing (Information Technology)
- Account Management (Sales)
Pnet also provides sector-specific hiring data, which can provide valuable insights into the local job market and the South African economy. This month’s focus is on Medical and Health professionals.
August saw a major uptake in hiring activity for Medical and Health professionals, with a strong demand for staff in Gauteng. Year-on-year hiring activity in the sector increased by 25%.
Deeper dive
Pnet also investigated the decline in hiring activity more thoroughly and tried to pinpoint the sectors responsible for it.
Over the last two years, significant declines in hiring activity have been evident within the IT sector, which has seen a decrease of 33%.
That said, after hiring activity for IT professionals plummeted in Q1 2024, there has since been
an improvement in recruitment activity and demand has slightly increased.
“The decrease in local demand for IT professionals has been fuelled by the global trend of tech layoffs,” said Pnet.
“Retrenchments and job cuts by global giants in the IT sector were first announced at the end of 2022. Companies like Google, Amazon and Meta (Facebook) reduced their Tech staff counts significantly back then.”
“This trend has continued and is still very prevalent in 2024. Google and Amazon are still on the list when it comes to tech layoffs, but other comapnies like Tesla, Tik Tok, Microsoft and other companies are also decreasing their Tech staff size in 2024.”
Year-on-year demand for Admin, Office & Support staff also decreased by 14% over the last two years (August 2022 to August 2024), while recruitment activity in this sector has declined by 12%.
Hiring activity in the sector decreased substantially at the end of 2022 and remains slow at the start of 2023.
Although demand picked up in Q2 2023, hiring activity has been volatile in the sector and demand has since fallen.
“The decrease in Teller / Cashier, Secretary and various other administrative roles is likely the result of technology enhancements and office automation where repetitive tasks have been digitalized,” said Pnet.
“Most of us have not used a teller to draw cash or deposit money for many years. This process has been automated, and as a result, less personnel is needed.”
“The same applies to many administrative tasks like scheduling or transcribing, for example. Most of these tasks don’t require human input anymore, as software can execute those tasks while creating more efficiencies over the long term.”
Demand for sales staff decreased by 18% year-on-year, while it has increased by 5% over the last two years.
After elevated yet volatile hiring activity in 2023, demand for sales staff dropped pretty low at the start of 2024.
Hiring activity in the sales sector has increased slightly since April 2024, but it remains far lower than a year ago.
“Similar to the declining demand trend for administrative roles, the digital revolution has had a major impact on the retail sector across the globe. E-commerce has replaced many physical clothing and fashion shops with online specialist shops,” said Pnet.
“Many consumers now order their groceries online and get them conveniently delivered. As a result, fewer shop assistants and sales consultants are required.”
“The Covid-19 lockdowns accelerated this trend. More and more consumers are buying products and services online using self-service platforms without the need to engage with sales consultants.”
Year-on-year, demand for Building & Construction staff has decreased by -10%.
That said, over the past two years, recruitment activity in this sector has increased by +73%.
“It is encouraging to see this significant growth in recruitment activity for Building & Construction staff over the last two years.”
“Although demand dropped in Q1 2024, and current hiring is lower than a year ago, there remains a strong positive demand trend for staff in this sector.”
Notably, demand for Building Project Management grew by 172% over the last two years.
Year-on-year, demand for engineering staff has decreased by 4%.
That said, recruitment activity in the sector has increased 34% over the past two years.
“Although demand for Engineering professionals dropped in Q1:2024, and current hiring is slightly lower than a year ago, there has been a strong uptake in hiring activity for Engineering professionals over the past two years.”
Notably, demand for Civil/Structural Engineering and Electrical Engineering increased by 93% and 86% over the last two years, respectively.