Business Insider SA reports that SA’s job market is slowly recovering after two years of layoffs and reduced hiring activity, with businesses in most sectors now actively looking to employ.

The Covid-19 pandemic threw SA’s already embattled economy into a tailspin. Businesses closed – either temporarily or permanently – with hundreds of thousands of job losses ratcheting the country's unemployment rate to record highs. Few sectors were spared retrenchments as companies attempted to cut costs and stay afloat. Similarly, hiring activity remained depressed throughout much of 2020 and 2021. But there are signs of recovery. According to Pnet's ‘2022 Job Market Trends’ report, the demand for labour is looking more positive, with hiring activity of most sectors back to pre-Covid levels. Vacancies in the SA job market, determined by data sourced from online recruitment platforms, increased by 8.3% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to two years ago during the same period. Hiring activity in the medical and health sector has increased by 30%, showing the strongest recovery over the past two years, according to Pnet's research. Job openings in security and emergency services and manufacturing and assembly have increased by 28% and 25%, respectively. But there are some industries which are still below pre-pandemic levels. Jobs in the education, training and library aren't as easy to find, with demand still 3% behind pre-pandemic levels. Hiring activity in warehousing and logistics has almost made a full recovery, but is still 1% off.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Luke Daniel at Business Insider SA

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