The Career Junction Index (CJI) represents the online labour dynamics in South Africa by providing detailed research of the relative ratio of demand and supply in the online job market. It is based on the comprehensive data gathered from the CareerJunction Website.
CareerJunction found that hiring activity increased by 4% during September, while job search activity increased by 12%.
These are both positive signs after the high unemployment rate of 30,1% reported in the first quarter of 2020, as a result of the closing and scaling down of businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Demand has increased for professionals in the business & management, sales, warehousing & logistics, manufacturing & assembly, admin, office & support and architecture & engineering.
An index score below 100 indicates that there are fewer job opportunities for potential job seekers and more potential job seekers per job advert, this makes recruitment easier. An index score above 100 indicates the opposite - there are more job opportunities for potential job seekers, and fewer potential job seekers per job advert. This makes recruitment more difficult.
The CJI reached 91 index points and this indicates that there is increased competition in the job search market, thus recruitment is easier.
The index decreased greatly from a year ago and this is due to the period of declining job search activity, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown which restricted hiring activity across all sectors for several months.
However, as the lockdown levels have eased and the economy is opening up companies are looking for job skills which aid in recovery - though this is still in a limited capacity.
The following are job skills which are in demand:
- Software development skills, which has remained the highest in demand and the hiring activity for these skills has increased by 10% during September 2020, according to CareerJunction.
- Managerial staff, which are highly demanded, with sales managers and finance managers being particularly well sought after.
- Sales consultants, for which the demand is slowly growing and has increased by 16% during September, CareerJunction said.
Trending jobs include:
Admin Clerk
Average salary offerings for a skilled level position:
- GP R12,698 to R15,985
- WC R11,425 to R14,123
- KZN R8,995 to R11,200
Senior Management
Average salary offerings for a managerial level position:
- GP R64,335 to R80,931
- WC R53,285 to R66,508
- KZN R50,297 to R58,505
Executive Management / Director
Average salary offerings for an executive position:
- GP R81,812 to R108,122
- WC R55,147 to R107,467
- KZN R63,296 to R101,786
IT, business & management and finance sectors are the most sought-after sectors in the job market, followed by the sales, admin, office & support and architecture & engineering sectors, among others listed.
When looking at active job seekers across various sectors, areas of high supply correlate closely to areas of high demand, however supply outstrips demand in some areas, leading to a competitive environment for job seekers.
During lockdown level five and four there was a decrease in recruitment activity but now hiring activity is slowly increasing for professional in the business & management, sales, warehousing & logistics, manufacturing & assembly, admin, office & support and architecture & engineering sectors.
Hiring activity remains at a reduced level for professionals in ICT, cleaning, maintenance & repair and marketing. Demand for medical & health professionals decreased during September after elevated recruitment activity from June to August 2020.
