The State of Jobs and Employment in South Africa

South Africa is the most developed country on the African continent and has the largest economy in the continent. Its diversity has attracted a lot of investors in the country which has in turn made the economy export based.

Not only has the country attracted fellow Africans to migrate to it, it has also attracted Europeans to find jobs or invest in the country. As expected in any growing economy, this has increased the crime rate although it has not discouraged immigrants and investors. It is now easy to get Jobs, careers and employment opportunities in South Africa

According to a 2013 report released by Statistics South Africa, the GDP growth rate of the country has relatively increased from 1993 to 2013 averaging at 3.2 Percent. With a rich economy boosted by the country’s natural resources and it being that it is a leading producer of platinum, gold, chromium and iron, South Africa is a hub of employment.

As of 2013, petroleum engineers are the highest paid in the country with R572, 600 per annum. The salary keeps on changing depending on the qualifications person posses. For those with a Masters Degree, there is a better advantage for yearly salary revision.

 Air Traffic Controllers come in as the second best paid and second most popular job in South Africa. Most aircraft companies offer around R583 450 per annum in which dedication and commitment are required.

Computer and Information Systems Managers earn R587 230 per annum making them the third most paid jobs.

Lawyers have a starting salary package varying from R643 440 to R665 000 per annum but it gets better if a candidate has been practicing for three to four years.
Airline pilots and flight engineers: one can easily start with a post of a minimum salary package of R695 800 per annum.

The highest paying jobs however range between states or cities depending on the demand of the particular city. For example, in Durban, some of the best paying jobs in reference to their monthly salary are Managing Director earning 155,000 ZAR, Chief Operating Officer with 79,167 ZAR per month. Hotel Manager (Food /Hospitality / Tourism / Catering)    earning 79,000 ZAR,  Labor Relations Director (Human Resources)     earning 76,667 ZAR, Production Executive (Executive and Management)     with 62,667 ZAR and Project Manager (Construction / Building / Installation) earning 62,000 ZAR per month.

In Cape Town, the highest paying job is Assistant Operations Manager earning 312,000 ZAR per month followed by Sales Executive (Sales Retail and Wholesale)    with 150,000 ZAR.   Corporate Director (Executive and Management) earns 115,000 ZAR while Development Manager (Information Technology)    earns 96,667 ZAR per month, among others.

However, despite the booming economy, there is a visible increment in unemployment in South Africa. A report released in the first quarter of 2013 suggested that the high rate of unemployment is not because of lack of new jobs being created by the economy but rather it is because of the increasing rate of job seekers on the market.

Daily Marverick reported that the economy has added 100, 000 jobs for the first quarter of 2013 but the jobs were not enough to absorb all of the new entrants into the labor market. “The total number of employed people rose to 2008 levels of some 13.7-million but the numbers of unemployed and discouraged work-seekers rose to record levels,” Daily Marverick wrote.
The quarterly labor force survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2013 released on Tuesday 6th November 2013 shows that in the months of April to June 2013, the official unemployment rate rose to 25.6%. The broader rate of unemployment however rose to 36.8%.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a survey on October 1st 2013 in which it pointed out that the rate of economic growth in South Africa has failed to meet the needs of unemployment in the country despite its growth. It suggested that the country’s growth should increase in the coming years to meet the increasing rate of unemployment and visible increasing demand of jobs in the country. “As the global economy recovers and the government’s infrastructure drive bears fruit, South Africa’s growth should pick up to 3–3½ percent in the coming years,” IMF.

Talking about the current state of jobs and unemployment in the country, IMF in its survey agrees with Daily Marverick that the jobs created are simply not enough for the increasing number of job seekers in South Africa. “At these growth rates, the economy creates jobs, but not enough for the growing labor force and those currently without work.”

The survey goes ahead and points out the rate of unemployment in South Africa remains between 20 to 30 percent including those who gave up trying to look for jobs. “Unemployment remains stubbornly above 20 percent, or more than 30 percent when including those who have given up looking for a job. Youth unemployment is even higher at more than 50 percent,” the survey suggests.
Reacting to the Statistics South Africa report, Trading Economics writer, Joana Taborda pointed out the industries in the country which are performing well and which have grown as of 2013. “Quarter-on-quarter, the most notable performance of industries in the second quarter of 2013 was for manufacturing, which increased an annualized 11.5 percent, from a 7.9 percent contraction in the previous three-month period.

“Electricity, gas and water sector expanded an annualized 5.3 percent in the second quarter of 2013, from a 3 percent contraction in the previous quarter.  Wholesale and retail trade growth accelerated to 3.2 percent, from 1.9 percent; construction increased 1.2 percent and finance, real estate and business services increased 3.5 percent. Transport and communication activities decelerated to 1.6 percent. Mining and agriculture contracted in the second quarter by an annualized rate of 5.6 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.”

The growth of these sectors probably account for the most paying and some of the most popular jobs in South Africa.
With the ‘few’ jobs that are currently available in the South Africa, there are improved methods and forms of job search which are being generated to meet the high demand of jobs on the market.

Some of the booming job search methods are on-line recruiting services which are used by companies to sort through the many job applications to find the most suitable candidate for a particular job.

Some of the popular and common recruiting organizations or companies available in South Africa are Jobs in South Africa, Career Junction, Best Jobs South Africa and South Africa Jobline, among others.
As in any country, South Africa has companies which are known for employing a sizeable number of people in which most job seekers look to see if they can get lucky and find jobs. As of 2012, referring to an article by Business Report, SA’s Best Paid Bosses; Shoprite is a hub of jobs with its website being updated on a daily basis with new available jobs in the company.

Paying its top executive over R50m, just R10m or more than Shoprite’s boss, Richemont can be looked at as a top paying company. The company had other four company executives on the list of the highest paid bosses. However, to get a high paying job, you might have to do a South Africa Jobs Search by Cities or South Africa Jobs by Category

A previously associated company, British American Tobacco can also be seen as one of the companies in South Africa which hire employees. Other companies include BHP Billiton, Anglo American, SABMiller, AngloGold Ashanti (R16m), Steinhoff in third place (R15m), Cipla Medpro Remgro, Gold Fields, Telkom, Bidvest, MTN, Sasol and Aveng.

With the increasing rate of unemployment in the country, IMF suggested in its survey that the country should embrace social bargain. “Lastly, a social bargain could help spur job creation by combining commitments for wage restraint from unions, commitments for job creation from firms, and commitments to strengthen public services from the government.”

As the job market faces challenges in reference to the increasing number of job seekers on the market, people looking for jobs, careers and employment in South Africa can find the latest jobs on South Africa Jobline. The website offers free resume upload for job seekers and free job posting for employers.