Employment prospects likely to remain tight
Only 11 percent of employers plan to increase payrolls in the first quarter of this year
SOUTH Africa’s salaries and bonuses have followed a consistent path over the last five years.
This is according to Lars Fischer, the operating director at Michael Page Africa following the recent release of the recruitment firm’s 2019 Annual South Africa Salary Survey.
Fischer said most of South Africa’s sectors would remain under pressure as a result of limited household spending and private investment over the past three years, while local and international organisations remained cautious expanding into African markets.
Fischer said the South African labour market had been unpredictable despite a short recovery in the first half of last year, and the emergence from a recession with a plus 2.2 percent gross domestic product growth in the third quarter and the official unemployment rate back at its 2017 level.
“With the economic stimulus package announced in September last year and a heightened commitment to attract foreign investment, we are expecting a positive economic impact on the GDP growth and the unemployment rate for 2019.
“While the majority of sectors remain under pressure, significant drivers for a more positive development will come from the banking and financial services, IT and transportation sectors,” said Fischer.
Lyndy van den Barselaar, the managing director of ManpowerGroup SA, said in the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey Q1 2019, released last month, that South African employers reported conservative hiring intentions for the first three months of this year.
Van den Barselaar said 11 percent of employers were expecting to increase payrolls, 6 percent were anticipating a decrease and 81 percent were forecasting no change.
“The country’s economic growth continues to be slower-than-expected in the short to medium term.
“This means businesses have to be cautious when it comes to spending and hiring activity, which could explain the 81 percent of employers reporting no change to their hiring strategies in the coming quarter,” said Van den Barselaar.
“Finally, salaries and bonuses have tended to follow a consistent pattern over the past five years, with steady increases to reflect inflationary pressures.
“In the current market, there are a number of candidates with niche skill sets or relevant experience who are able to command higher salaries due to a low supply of talent,” said Fischer.