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SA job prospects looking up

Johannesburg - Job seekers in South Africa may find it slightly easier to find employment early next year.

The Manpower employment outlook survey said employers expected moderate opportunities for job seekers, with a 5% increase compared to this time last year.
 
Manpower SA managing director Lyndy van den Barselaar said the employment market remained reserved, while “rising activity levels in the mining and quarrying, agriculture and service sectors should assist in reaching the expected average annual growth rate”.

South Africa, however, still faced several challenges.

The country’s business interests continued to be affected negatively by global trading conditions, with adverse local factors aggravating its performance in recent times.

Hiring prospects


Recessionary conditions in South Africa’s main trading partner, the eurozone, also have an effect on local industries, especially in terms of exports and creating jobs in the private sector.

“Combined with subdued growth elsewhere in the world, such developments are impacting the prospects for job seekers in the New Year.”

Employers in four of the five regions foresee payroll gains in the first quarter.

A cautiously optimistic net employment outlook of +7% is reported for the Eastern Cape, while the Western Cape reports an encouraging outlook of +10%.

Modest hiring opportunities are expected in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where the outlook stands at +3%, but the Free State expects stagnant hiring prospects with an outlook of -2%.

Van den Barselaar said: “A commitment from provincial governments in the country’s drive to overcome the shortage of suitable, skilled labour is a factor that continues to contribute to the expected positive hiring pace.

“The government is supporting skills development by giving incentives to companies that train certain employees through accredited training like CETA, for example.”

Quarter-over-quarter, hiring plans weaken in four of the five regions, but employers report a 1% improvement in the Western Cape.



Hiring prospects improve in four of the five regions when compared with the first quarter of this year.

The most noteworthy improvements of nine percentage points are reported in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape.

Employers in Gauteng report an Outlook increase of four percentage points and hiring plans are one percentage point stronger in KwaZulu-Natal. However, hiring intentions weaken by three percentage points in Free State.

Employers in eight of the 10 industry sectors anticipate more employees on the payroll during the first quarter of 2014.

The most positive hiring intentions are reported in the electricity, gas and water supply sectors as well as the mining and quarrying sectors.



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