CareerJunction has released its latest jobs update, showing which jobs are most in demand in South Africa.

The CJI represents online labour dynamics in South Africa by providing a detailed analysis of the relative ratio of supply and demand in the online job market. The report is based on comprehensive data gathered from the company’s website.

The March Index settled at 104 index points – indicating a less competitive environment for job seekers. While there was no notable increase in vacancies, job search activity slowed, translating into fewer applications per vacancy, CareerJunction said.

“Year-on-year, many sectors have seen a notable decrease in job availability,” it said. “This trend is particularly evident in the in the engineering (-14%), business & management (-18%), admin, office & support (-24%), construction (-26%) and medical (-47%) sectors.

“Trending jobs for March include account management, accounts payable & receivable and financial & project accounting.”

Account Management

Average salary offerings for management level position:

GP: R23,333 to R33,756 pm

WC: R21,600 to R24,667 pm

KZN: R21,200 to R 27,500 pm.

Accounts payable & Receivable

Average salary offerings for management level position:

GP: R16,372 to R19,712 pm

WC: R14,425 to R 17,583 pm

KZN: R13,265 to R 15,438 pm

Financial & Project Accounting

Average salary offerings for management level position:

GP: R39,678 to R47,441 pm

WC: R30,412 to R 35,371 pm

KZN: R32,151 to R 37,444 pm

Demand vs supply

An overview of vacancy levels across various sectors (indicated by the demand graph) provides a good indication of where the majority of employment takes place.

The IT, business & management and finance sectors are undoubtedly the most sought after sectors, followed by the sales, admin, office & support and architecture & engineering sectors, among others listed.

When looking at active job seekers across various sectors (indicated by the supply graph), areas of high supply correlate closely to areas of high demand, however supply outstrips demand in some areas, leading to a competitive environment for job seekers.

In terms of fluctuating demand, the sales, manufacturing and ICT sectors have displayed volatile demand trends during the last 3 quarters. Job volumes remain lower than the previous year, CareeJunction said.

Following a downturn at the outset of 2018, job volumes have grown moderately since January in the finance, marketing and construction sectors. However, jobs in construction remain significantly lower year-on-year.

Hiring activity has cooled considerably in the engineering, business & management, admin, office & support and medical sectors over the last 6 months.

“This is particularly evident in the medical sector. Year-on-year, job volumes are down by 14%, 18%, 24% and 47% respectively,” it said.

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