"Positive employment outlook" for South Africa in 2010

South Africa looks set to start the year on a positive note, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of local hiring trends, which predicts "considerably improved hiring activity" for the first quarter of the year.

The survey, conducted by interviewing a representative sample of over 750 employers in South Africa, marks a definite shift after two consecutive quarters of relatively stagnant hiring patterns.

Times are still tough: 68% of employers still anticipate no change in the total numbers of workers in the first three months of the year, but only 9% are now forecasting a decrease in numbers and 22% predict an increase in their total employment. What Manpower calls the Net Employment Outlook, therefore, which is the figure derived from subtracting the percentage of bearish employers from the percentage of bullish employers, has improved considerably from +1% in the fourth quarter 2009 to +13% in the first quarter of 2010.

"The positive forecasts that South African employers are reporting for the first quarter in 2010 is good news for job seekers, - says Lars Forseth, Manpower's regional director of Europe, Middle East and Africa. - The percentage of employers telling us they will add to their payrolls has nearly doubled from three months ago to 22%. This is a good sign for the labor market and reverses two consecutive quarters of weak hiring patterns; employer hiring plans have returned to the pace reported a year ago."

Manpower's other surveys in the area show that South Africa's hiring activity prospects are the best for the whole Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Employers in eight of the ten sectors examined expect to add employees in the upcoming quarter, the only negative exceptions being construction and manufacturing. The Finance, Insurance and Business services sector has what is described as a "respectable" outlook (see graph below). If Manpower's forecast is correct, there could be more hirings than firings in South Africa in 2010.

The optimistic outlook for next year seems to be shared by others recruiters, despite the latest unemployment figures which show 1m people lost their jobs in 2009. "The banking sector held up nicely during the recession and is now back on track and ready to grow," says Peter Mommsen, director of Unique Personnel, a recruiting agency in Johannesburg. "I am convinced that 2010 will be a boom year for jobs in South Africa."