Hiring activity in South Africa remained volatile according to the Pnet Job Market Trends Report, which provides insights into recruitment and employment trends in the South African market.
The report by the online recruitment platform said that after April every year there was usually an uptake in hiring activity however, in this year, there was a slight decrease in hiring activity. This may be partly as a result of political instability and concerns leading up to and following the 2024 South Africa elections. Year-on-year, hiring activity decreased by -10, compared to May 2023. The trend for the two-year comparison reveals that recruitment activity has decreased by -5 compared to May 2022, said Paul Byrne, the head of Data Insights Customer Success at Pnet.
The recruitment platform noted that sector-specific hiring activity trends could provide valuable insights into the local job market and the South African economy. It said that stable and increasing recruitment activity indicated confidence in the local economy and business growth.
The report noted that only one sector showed year-on-year growth, considering the slowed hiring activity in 2024 thus far.
Although there has been lower and more volatile hiring activity for architecture and engineering in this sector, this year, year-on-year, it had increased by 6.
