New data from recruitment firm Pnet shows most job sectors in South Africa are returning to pre-pandemic hiring levels , with vacancies in most fields.

Pnet’s latest Employment Trends Report provides an overview of recruitment and employment trends in the South African market. According to the company, their report is based on online recruitment platform Saongroups, which currently holds an aggregated database of more than 8 million registered users.

Pnet says hiring continued to grow 4% seasonally adjusted from the previous quarter. In annual change, the number of job offers increased by 19%.

The labor market has seen a strong recovery since the pandemic and the resulting economic restrictions in 2020, Pnet said.

Since Q3 2020, hiring activity has increased by 65%. Pnet said the first three quarters of the year showed solid growth in recruitment activity, with the recruitment trend continuing to increase.

Pnet says these jobs in the following industries are in high demand right now:

IT

•           Data analyst

•           Business analyst

•           Project manager

•           Software development

•           Java development

Sales

•           Account manager

•           Sales representative

•           Sales manager

Finance

•           Financial accountant

•           Financial manager

•           Management accountant

•           Bookkeeper

•           Internal auditor

•           Financial controller

•           Debtors clerk

•           Credit Controller

•           Creditors clerk

Business & Management

•           Business development manager

•           Operations Manager

•           Recruitment Consultant

Region	Main skills in demand
Gauteng	Building and construction
Western Cape	Education, training and library professions
KwaZulu Natal	Finance
Mpumalanga	Admin, office and support
Eastern Cape	Business and management, IT and finance
North West	Business and management, admin, office and support, sales and finance
Free State	Business and management
Limpopo	Admin, office and support
Northern Cape	Finance
International	Business and management

Pnet says Gauteng continues to hold a large share of the recruitment activity.

“In the third quarter of 2022, the province’s employment accounted for 54% of the country’s overall labor demand.

During the same period, 21% of SA recruiting activity was in the Western Cape, while 1 in 10 vacancies were based in KwaZulu-Natal, Pnet reported.

Salary

Pnet highlights the market-related (per month) salaries offered in select roles in engineering, sales and management, as well as warehousing and logistics.

Engineering

• Mechanical engineer (R45,000 – R60,000)
• Electrical engineer (R35,000 – R45,000)
• Industrial engineer (R25,000 – R35,000)

Business and management

• Business development consultant (R20,000 – R25,000)
• HR manager (R35,000 – R50,000)
• Marketing manager (R30,000 – R40,000)

Warehousing and logistics

• Stock controller (R10,000 – R14,500)
• Storeman (R10,000 – R14,500)
• Fleet controller (R12,000 – R13,500)