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We list the top 10 sectors with the most job posts

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Image: Getty Images
Image: Getty Images

Shaun Clarke, of Careers24, one of South Africa’s leading online recruitment sites takes us through the 2017 rends in the job market and the top sectors with the most job posts.

Careers24 has released their review of recruitment and job seeker statistics for 2017 this week. It showed that the number of vacancies applied for were the same, if not slightly lower than 2016. This could be an indication of the current economy or, more importantly, that there is uncertainty in the market and job seekers are being more selective about the companies they want to work for.

In total, over 680 000 searches were made on Careers24 during 2017 compared to a little more than 550 000 in 2016. However, the total amount of applications made went down from more than 650 000 in 2016 to just under 560 000, showing that candidates are thinking carefully about which companies they would like to work for.

We’ve also noticed that the amount of people currently employed and seeking other opportunities outweighed the number of people currently unemployed and actively looking for work. Of the 300 000 candidates reviewed, 160 000 were employed while 140 000 were unemployed.

The number of jobs posted in various job sectors in 2017 remained similar or was slightly lower than the number of jobs posted in 2016. This could be an indication of the current economy, showing that the lack of growth in the economy is forcing businesses to only hire new candidates selectively.

 

The top 10 sectors with the most jobs posted during 2017 were:

IT – 6264

Sales – 1976

Finance – 1613

Engineering – 1420

Education – 1328

Accounting – 1004

Medical – 988

Retail – 913

Admin – 799

Manufacturing – 772

The top five sectors for job posts during 2017 are similar to those of 2016, which were as follows:

IT – 6210

Technology – 3897

Sales – 2329

Engineering – 1694

Marketing – 1202

In 2017, over 500 000 new candidates registered on Careers24 and more than half of these new job seekers registered on a mobile device. The trend toward more and more traffic being generated through mobile devices has been long predicted, but 2017 was the first year where we’ve consistently seen general mobile traffic make up as much as 70% of all traffic on Careers24.

The last quarter of the year generally sees a decline in activity in the recruitment market. Most people are planning for their holidays and some of the lucky ones are sitting tight, waiting for their bonus cheque. January is a time for new resolutions so we are currently seeing activity increase sharply.

We’ve also noticed an increased interest in researching a company thoroughly before applying to work there. On our Company Showcase pages, companies have the opportunity to tell candidates about their corporate culture, graduate programs and the like.

In 2016 these Company Showcase pages were viewed 466 000 times. In 2017, this shot up significantly to just under 1,4 million views - a clear indication of candidates wanting to make more informed decisions.

So, when is the best time to look for a new job? According to Careers24’s statistics, most candidates searched for a new job on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, respectively. On one particular Monday in January 2017, more than 28 000 job searches were conducted. Interestingly, the most popular days for job searches changed during the last quarter of 2017, with some of the more popular days being Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Recruiters tend to be a bit more predictable. The most jobs were posted on Mondays in 2016 and 2017. The next best days to look for a new job are Wednesday and Thursday. The most jobs posted in a single day in 2017, was a Thursday in June, totaling just under 7500 new jobs.

The data is based on usage patterns of both recruiters sourcing candidates and candidates who applied for positions on the platform.

Visit Careers24 at www.careers24.com or follow @Careers24Jobs on Twitter and like the Careers24 Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Careers24.

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