Tech hiring cools in South Africa
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — Job recruitment in South Africa‘s technology sector has declined over the past year, according to a report from CareerJunction.
The report, which analyzed supply and demand trends in the online job market, utilized data from Saongroup South Africa, working with over 5,000 of the country’s leading recruiters.
It found a 6% total decrease in recruitment activity in South Africa from November to December 2023. Sectors hit hardest include legal (-25%), sales (-8%), marketing (-4%), building & construction (-3%), and IT (-3%).
Hiring activity for software developers, in particular, has dropped substantially since 2019, falling from the most in-demand skill to the third most sought-after behind project administration and business analysis.
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This shift in demand for IT professionals is attributed to the global tech industry’s extensive job cuts in 2022 and 2023.
In fact, Christopher Kayes, a professor at The George Washington University School of Business, thinks that big tech firms like Google, Amazon, and Duolingo are no longer seen as the “employer for life” as thousands more workers lose their jobs in the industry.
“I think it’s a trend that we’ll see for a couple of years now,” he said.
However, roles like systems administration, data analysis, and business analytics are still sought-after as South Africa continues facing an overall shortage of tech talent and skills.
“Interestingly, although demand for IT roles has decreased, demand for roles in systems / network administration has grown consistently over the past few years,” according to the report.
