The latest monthly jobs index from CareerJunction for the month of February 2021, highlights the job skills that are currently sought-after in South Africa.
The CareerJunction Index (CJI) represents online labour dynamics in the country by providing a detailed analysis of the relative ratio of supply and demand in the online job market.
The data shows that hiring activity hardly changed during the month of February. Labour demand seemed to stabilise slowly for professionals within the architecture & engineering, marketing, finance and sales sectors, CareerJunction said.
During February 2021, the CareerJunction Index increased to 107 index points indicating decreased competition in the job search market.
Most wanted skills
The career portal’s latest research shows that the following occupational fields are currently the most sought-after skill sets in the job market:
- Software development: Demand for software development skills in-creased by 22% from January to February 2021. Professionals within software development remain highly demanded in the local job market.
- Middle/department management: Managerial skills in combination with managerial expertise are highly sought after. Particularly middle and department managers are on the forefront of labour demand.
- Representative/sales consulting: Hiring activity for sales consultants has been slowly increasing since December 2020. Despite a volatile demand trend, job advertising for sales consultants has increased by 19% over the last six months.
Trending jobs include:
Team Leader & Supervisor
Average salary offerings for a skilled level position per month:
- Gauteng – R17,825 to R22,589
- Western Cape – R20,758 to R23,671
- KZN – R18,024 to R22,053
Senior Management
Average salary offerings for a skilled level position per month:
- Gauteng – R59,454 to R78,732
- Western Cape – R46,439 to R55,394
- KZN – R49,917 to R54,000
Business Development
Average salary offerings for a skilled level position per month:
- Gauteng – R27,865 to R34,492
- Westen Cape – R26,708 to R32,222
- KZN – R24,000 to R30,792
Career Junction said that based on the most recent online hiring activity, five sectors were identified that show promising employment prospects after two months into the new year, and a year after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.
- Information technology;
- Architecture & engineering;
- Manufacturing & assembly;
- Sales; and
- Business & management.
When looking at active job seekers across various sectors, areas of high supply correlate closely to areas of high demand. The IT, business & management and finance sectors are undoubtedly the most sought-after sectors, followed by the sales, admin, office & support and architecture & engineering sectors, among others listed.
When looking at active job seekers across various sectors (indicated by the supply graph), 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.
