Job seekers can expect steady growth

The outlook has now climbed steadily for four consecutive quarters and is now four percentage points stronger than the third quarter forecast and six percentage points stronger year-over-year. Of the 750 South African employers who participated in the fourth quarter research, 11% expect to increase staffing levels, 6% forecast a decrease and 82% expect no change to current payrolls.

"Although South Africa's outlook is affected both by national concerns, such as unrest in and pressure on certain industries, as well as international sluggishness, with Europe as one of South Africa's chief export destinations, trade and industrial policies encourage local firms to explore new areas of growth based on improved competitiveness," says Lyndy van Barselaar, MD of Manpower SA.

Modest opportunities in Gauteng

Employers in all five regions foresee payroll gains in the imminent quarter. Cautiously optimistic net employment outlooks of nine percentage points are reported in both Eastern Cape and Western Cape, and modest hiring opportunities are expected in Gauteng where the outlook stands at five percentage points. Some workforce gains are forecast in Kwazulu-Natal and the Free State, with outlooks of 3% and 2%, respectively.

Quarter-over-quarter, hiring plans strengthen in all five regions. Employers report improvements of nine percentage points in Eastern Cape and eight percentage points in Western Cape. Elsewhere, the outlook strengthens by three percentage points. Hiring prospects improve in four of the five regions when compared with the fourth quarter of 2012. The most noteworthy improvements of 11 and ten percentage points are reported in Western Cape and Eastern Cape, respectively. Employers in KwaZulu-Natal report an outlook increase of seven percentage points and hiring plans are three percentage points stronger in Gauteng. However, hiring intentions weakened by three percentage points in Free State.

Role of public sector

Employers in seven of the ten industry sectors anticipate growing payrolls during the fourth quarter. The most positive hiring intentions are reported in the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing sector and the mining and quarrying sector - employers in both report outlooks of +12%.

"Employment is likely to be driven mainly by the public sector as it rolls out its infrastructure programme. However, it averred that, although recent indicators showed that demand-driven inflation remained contained, risks to the inflation outlook were still on the upside," Van den Barselaar concludes.