Top 40 Hot Jobs in South Africa: Unveiling High-Demand Careers & Salaries

1. Pnet’s Market Trends Report identifies the Business & Management, IT, Sales, and Admin Office & Support sectors as the areas with the highest demand for professionals in South Africa during the first quarter of 2023.
2. The highest salaries are offered to IT candidates, followed by those in Business & Management and Finance, with Admin, Office & Support professionals receiving comparatively lower salary offers.
3. The report provides a comprehensive list of the top 40 high-demand jobs in South Africa, offering valuable insights into current job market trends, salary expectations, and potential growth opportunities for job seekers and employers.

Recruitment firm Pnet has recently published a detailed analysis of the most in-demand jobs in South Africa for the first quarter of 2023, revealing valuable insights into the job sectors attracting professionals across various industries. The report highlights the Business & Management, IT, Sales, and Admin Office & Support sectors as the top areas witnessing the largest portion of professionals getting hired.

Pnet’s latest Market Trends Report delves into recruitment and employment patterns in South Africa, using data from Saongroup’s online recruitment platforms, which boast a database of over 8 million registered users. The research shows that the local job market increased by 3.8% ‘quarter-on-quarter’ in the first quarter of 2023.

“Year-on-year, employment offers have increased by 1.5%,” said Pnet. Over the last two years, Pnet has seen a 35% growth in jobs.

Currently, the highest salaries are offered for IT candidates, followed by Business & Management and Finance candidates, according to Pnet. On the other side of the scale, Admin, Office & Support professionals are on the lower end in terms of salary offers.

According to Pnet’s recent data, some of the highest salaries across the various sectors are reserved for executive managers/directors as well as specialists in business architecture and financial analysts.

Pnet looked into what salaries are currently being offered across all the listed in-demand sectors, adding three additional jobs to their initial list of 37, resulting in a total of 40 high-demand jobs:

Admin, Office and Support

Pnet reported that salary offers for this sector have increased by up to 38% over the last five years:

1. Call Centre Operator: R9,167 – R11,627
2. Switchboard/Reception: R8,000 – R12,037
3. Admin Clerk: R14,000 – R18,821
4. Secretary: R12,500 – R19,500
5. Client/Customer Support: R15,000 – R22,800
6. Personal Assistant: R20,000 – R28,793
7. Human Resources: R25,000 – R37,963
8. Office Manager: R30,000 – R45,000

Sales

The sales sector has seen some professionals being offered up to 42% more over the last five years. According to Pnet, those involved in account management are the most well-off:

9. Telesales/ Telemarketing: R5,000 – R15,000
10. Retail: R13,000 – R19,488
11. Representative/ Sales Consulting: R16,000 – R24,916
12. Account Management: R30,000 – R45,283

Finance

Salary offers for those in finance remain higher than in other sectors however have only seen a 25% increase over the last five years:

13. Bookkeeping: R15,000 – R19,982
14. Accounts payable/Receivable: R15,000 – R21,068
15. Credit Management: R20,000 – R35,053
16. Purchasing & Procurement: R25,000 – R36,895
17. Financial/ Project Accounting: R30,000 – R39,262
18. External Auditing: R34,784 – R44,750
19. Cost and Management Accounting: R37,458 – R45,000
20. Internal Auditing: R35,000 – R51,655
21. Financial Analysis: R40,833 – R56,726

Business and Management

“Over the last five years, salary offers for Business & Management professionals have increased by up to 17%,” said Pnet:

22. Staff Recruitment/ Selection: R12,000 – R20,000
23. Team Leader & Supervisor: R22,917 – R37,703
24. Employee Training/ Development: R35,000 – R46,174
25. Infrastructure/ Operations Consulting: R30,000 – R46,228
26. Business Development: R30,000 – R47,131
27. Middle/ Department Management: R41,667 – R59,523
28. Senior Management: R45,000 – R61,980
29. Strategy Consulting: R36,000 – R65,000
30. Executive Management/ Director: R100,000 – R138,930

Information Technology

Despite some major salaries in management positions, the Information Technology sector has been pulling in some of the highest salaries in South Africa due to their increased demand.

“Over the last five years, salary offers for IT professionals have increased by up to 72%,” said Pnet:

31. Systems/ Network Administration: R25,000 – R41,806
32. Database Design/ Development/ Admin: R40,000 – R56,969
33. Systems Analysis: R41,491 – R57,211
34. Data Analysis/ Data Warehousing: R40,000 – R62,346
35. Business Analysis: R44,000 – R65,000
36. Software Development: R40,000 – R65,111
37. IT Project Administration/ Management: R54,058 – R72,000
38. Technical/ Business Architecture: R60,355 – R90,000

New Additions:

39. Cybersecurity Specialist: R45,000 – R75,000
40. Data Scientist: R50,000 – R85,000

This comprehensive list of the top 40 high-demand jobs in South Africa provides a clear picture of the current job market trends and salary expectations. It serves as a useful resource for job seekers, employers, and professionals looking to understand the landscape of employment opportunities and compensation in South Africa.