New data from CareerJunction highlights that highly experienced and qualified professionals are more willing to relocate out of South Africa as of the end of 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The data was published in CareerJunction’s latest employment insights report for December 2023, which offers an in-depth analysis of the employment market in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The data for the report was gathered from 5,000 of the country\u2019s largest recruiters, agencies, and employers who advertise job positions on the CareerJunction portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly, the report focused on labour mobility in the country. According to the data, almost seven out of 10 South African job seekers (69%) are willing to relocate for a new job, indicating high mobility within the labour force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Looking at job seekers who generally state they are open to relocating for a job, it is evident that with more work experience, the willingness to relocate internationally increases<\/strong>, while the willingness to relocate within South Africa decreases,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report added that when looking at job seekers who state they are open to relocating, there is a correlation between qualifications and job seekers’ willingness to relocate<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similar to the years of experience, higher qualified job seekers are more willing to move internationally for a job.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Looking at these trends where highly qualified and experienced job seekers are more inclined to move abroad speaks to the brain drain of local talent in South Africa<\/strong>,” said CareerJunction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n South Africa’s brain drain is a major concern<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at a roundtable on South Africa\u2019s brain drain in June of this year, Simonetta Guiricich from payroll services group Playroll said South Africa faces a mass exodus of talent over the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This comes as the country has already lost close to a million people to countries like the UK, Australia, the USA, New Zealand and Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n South Africa does not track emigrants. However, a recent report from the UN showed that 914,901 South Africans were living abroad, a significant jump from the 786,554 recorded in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The United Kingdom has the largest South African diaspora, with nearly 250,000 people listing South Africa as their country of birth, followed by Australia, the USA and New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the biggest concern among business leaders right now is that young, skilled people are the ones packing their bags to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf particular concern for South Africa is the steady and increasing number of departures by young, highly skilled individuals,\u201d Guiricich said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProjections indicate that the country could lose up to half of its university graduates (to emigration) in the coming years.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This concern was echoed in CareerJuinction’s report, which showed Job seekers aged 21 to 30 years show the highest mobility, where 3 out of 4 people are willing to relocate for a job.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYears of experience<\/th> Relocate within SA<\/th> Relocate internationally<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 0<\/td> 70%<\/td> 30%<\/td><\/tr> 0 to 2 <\/td> 66%<\/td> 34%<\/td><\/tr> 3 to 5 <\/td> 61%<\/td> 39%<\/td><\/tr> 10+<\/td> 55%<\/td> 45%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>
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