Top three metros show an increase in demand for professionals

Ronda Naidu 01 July 2022

Online hiring activity increases 24 percent year-on-year, according to an employment insights report.

Gauteng still leads the pack in terms of offering the majority of the country’s job vacancies (at 52 percent), with just over 30 percent of job offers being located in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

This is according to CareerJunction’s June 2022 Employment Insights, which also noted that international work opportunities are currently scarce, with job offers at three percent.
Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal all show an increased demand for professionals in design, media and arts, and architecture and engineering, as well as the legal sectors over the last two years.

The Western Cape experienced a decrease in hiring activity for design, media and arts professionals between 2020 and 2021. Similar trends were evident for architecture and engineering professionals in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal between 2020 and 2021.

Overall, however, recruitment activity has grown significantly across all three professional sectors over the last 12 months.

In terms of employment trends, there was a slight uptake in recruitment activity during May 2022 – with online hiring activity increasing 24 percent between May 2021 and May 2022.

The survey also confirmed that there were 10 percent more employees in South Africa in the first quarter of 2022 than in the fourth quarter of 2021, with new jobs being most prevalent in community and social services, manufacturing and trade.

Jobseekers within admin, office and support, warehousing and logistics, finance, cleaning, maintenance and repair as well as architecture and engineering have also been experiencing improved employment prospects since the beginning of the year. Vacancies within these job sectors have increased by over 17 percent since the fourth quarter of 2021.

In terms of candidate trends, there has been significant growth in applicants signing up to search and apply for jobs in education, training and library, manufacturing and assembly, and medical and health.

The report is based on data gathered from around 5,000 recruiters, both agencies and employers.

Ronda Naidu

Ronda Naidu is the head of content at CHRO, CFO and CIO South Africa. She holds a Masters in Corporate Journalism and earned her journalistic stripes at a number of the top privately owned media companies, across the print and online platforms, in South Africa. She has been recognised as a leading strategic communications professional in the country, having headed a number of communication functions across the financial, mining, engineering and agricultural industries.

CHRO Day survey highlights the state of HR leadership

A mentimeter survey at the recent CHRO Day in Johannesburg became a space for Mzansi’s top HR leaders to reflect on what is really happening inside their organisations.

19 May 2026

CHRO Day: HR execs unpack the paradox keeping them awake

Addressing a room of nearly 200 of South Africa’s leading HR executives during the opening panel of the 2026 CHRO Day, Matimba Mbungela, group CHRO at Vodacom, shared insights on the tough calls that define leadership.

15 May 2026

CHRO Day: ‘Speed dating’ sparks HR chemistry and connection

HR leaders went on a ‘speed date’ at the 2026 CHRO Day in Johannesburg – not the romantic kind, but one where they were paired up for seven-minute networking conversations designed to help them connect, share ideas and talk honestly about the challenges they are facing at work.

14 May 2026

CPO Juba Mashaba unpacks the people strategy behind Cell C’s JSE listing

Cell C’s listing towards the end of 2025 marked a journey shaped as much by people as by performance.

06 January 2026

CHROs share how 2025 lessons are shaping their HR resolutions for 2026

As organisations reset their people strategies for the year ahead, Bianca Anthon, HR director at Illovo Sugar; Juan du Toit, CHRO at Master Drilling Group; and Emelia Abotsi, CHRO at Fuchs Electronics, share how they are turning 2025’s hard-won lessons into 2026 HR new year’s resolutions, shaped by the realities of the work ahead.

17 December 2025

Heritage finds a home at work beyond Heritage Day

In a country where every greeting, proverb, or shared meal carries echoes of heritage, HR leaders such as Tembi Topham, HR executive for talent & D&I at RCL Foods; Phil Tshikotshi, vice president of HR at Startek; Khululiwe Nxumalo, head of people, culture and learning at Starbucks South Africa; and Angela Munger, head of HR for the MEA region at Centurion Systems, are finding ways to let heritage breathe throughout the workplace.

24 September 2025