{"id":873687,"date":"2026-09-06T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=873687"},"modified":"2026-09-04T18:01:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:01:01","slug":"bad-news-for-people-wanting-to-work-remotely-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/873687\/bad-news-for-people-wanting-to-work-remotely-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad news for people wanting to work remotely in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Remote Jobs Index 2026 revealed that South Africa has the lowest percentage of remote job listings in Africa, with only 17.6% of its LinkedIn job postings tagged as remote work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Remote Jobs Index 2026, conducted by Remitly, analysed approximately 7.8 million LinkedIn job listings in May 2026 to assess remote job availability and applicant competition worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group indicated that of the world\u2019s most attractive digital nomad destinations and economic powerhouses have surprisingly few remote job options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This statistic positions South Africa at the forefront of the \u201cleast remote jobs\u201d category on the continent, followed closely by Ghana (19.5%) and Egypt (21.8%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In stark contrast, countries like Equatorial Guinea (98.5%), the Republic of the Congo (95.4%), Cape Verde (94.7%), and Sierra Leone (92.4%) show over 90% of their job listings classified as remote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this low percentage, the job market in South Africa is showing notable growth in remote work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Pnet\u2019s latest Job Market Trends Report, remote job opportunities surged by 28% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, there has been a 41% increase in remote employment opportunities over the past two years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This finding indicates that while the current remote job rate is low, there is significant upward momentum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pnet\u2019s report argues that remote work has transitioned from being a temporary trend to an established part of South Africa\u2019s labour market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially popular in the technology sector, remote work is now expanding across various industries as businesses adapt to digitisation and changing workforce expectations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report highlights that remote positions have broadened beyond technology roles, attracting skilled employees from multiple sectors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Information Technology (IT) remains the largest source of remote job opportunities, other sectors are quickly catching up, with finance experiencing particularly rapid growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remote opportunities in this field have increased more than fourfold since 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sectors such as Business & Management, Sales, and Admin, Office & Support are reflecting stronger growth trends towards hybrid and remote work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While South Africa currently has a low proportion of remote job listings compared to other African nations, the market is rapidly evolving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rise of digital nomads <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has reported an increase in inquiries from remote workers looking to move to South Africa, particularly to Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DHA Director of Corporate Accounts, Phindiwe Mbhele, said that most inquiries about the Remote Work Visa, which was introduced in October 2024, end with prospective applicants expressing a desire to live in \u201cbeautiful Cape Town.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mbhele said that Cape Town leading the list aligns with the trends observed by the Department regarding foreigners who wish to live and work in the Mother City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mbhele told Xpatweb Managing Director Marisa Jacobs that the reports give the DHA mileage in potentially attracting remote workers to South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department said it is involved in initiatives abroad to promote South Africa as a preferred tourist destination and an attractive remote work location for skilled professionals from other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In collaboration with the Department of Tourism, the DHA participated in tours to India and China, aiming to attract more tourists from those countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mbhele explained that an individual who works remotely while living in South Africa can also explore the country as a tourist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact of this is significant, as they share their experiences with family and friends overseas, encouraging them to visit South Africa as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This creates a multiplier effect, boosting tourism and promoting the country’s attractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Polity, by 2025, there were an estimated 40 million digital nomads globally, with the number expected to reach 60 million by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LinkedIn estimated that in 2025, 10,000 of the world\u2019s remote workers were working from South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa has the lowest percentage of remote job listings in Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":840776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2096569363213980016","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2197567891063610","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18104167745522619","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[20930,20177,18386],"class_list":["post-873687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-pnet-job-market-trends-report","tag-remitly","tag-remote-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873687"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":873998,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873687\/revisions\/873998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}