Jobs in SA: These 10 industries are currently looking to hire

While economists have painted a gloomy picture of unemployment figures in South Africa, Gumtree says there are also moments of hope, like when the website carries 10 000 live job advertisements. 

Gumtree’s internal data suggests some encouraging markers in terms of job vacancies, which is what many South Africans are desperately in need of following months of an ever-changing pandemic and lockdown.

JOB AVAILABILITY IN SOUTH AFRICA 

According to TradingEconomics.com, South Africa’s unemployment figures have officially surpassed the 30% mark, with experts extremely pessimistic about our short and long-term economic growth prospects. Economist Mike Schussler said unemployment could soar past 50% if economic contraction follows the dramatic trend experienced in the United States.

“The last time we had this decline in the world economy, in 2008, South Africa lost 1.3 million jobs in 18 months. I believe we will lose more now; we already believe that this recession will have a much greater negative effect on our economy compared to the previous one,” said Schussler.

General Manager at Gumtree South Africa Claire Cobbledick, however, offers an alternative view to the catastrophe. 

In 2019, Gumtree recorded approximately 100 000 employment opportunities on the site. There are also currently just under 10 000 live jobs advertised on the website from a cross-section of industries, and she expects to see a rise in these numbers in the coming months.

The top 10 job specs on Gumtree currently include the following:

• 1 477 sales jobs;
• 961 jobs in construction and trade;
• 614 driving and logistics positions;
• 526 accounting and finance jobs;
• 514 manufacturing jobs;
• 505 general work opportunities;
• 468 healthcare and nursing roles;
• 445 IT and tech roles;
• 413 advertising and marketing opportunities, and
• 381 admin jobs.

SUPPORTING SME’S

Head of Operations at Gumtree Barrie Swart said the best way to stimulate the economy is by supporting small to medium enterprises (SMEs). 

Pre COVID-19 data suggested that 525 000 SMEs employ six million South Africans but this figure is likely to be negatively impacted due to the knock-on effect of the nationwide lockdown.

“Gumtree offers a great way for companies that have vacancies to connect with people who are looking for new employment opportunities. We believe our technology supports our communities by streamlining the recruitment and job-seeking processes and helps small businesses to keep going — and even growing — during this unusual business period,” said Swart.