Recession Impacts South Africaís Online Labour Market

South Africa is feeling the pinch of the recession, which reflects in the online labour market analysis. This is according to CareerJunction Index (CJI); a quarterly analysis of the behavioural trends generated by individuals who seek employment online.

The online labour market suffered a significant downturn since December 2008, when the CJI experienced a decrease of 56.80 index points. According to CJI findings, labour demand is continuously decreasing while supply is steadily growing. This decline serves as a clear indication of the impact that the recession has on the online labour market in South Africa, where economic growth and job creation have been impacted adversely.

Industries that have been highly affected by the downturn include the Finance and Human Resources industries as well as Trade related sectors, such as the FMCG, Retail & Wholesale, Mining, Motor, Manufacturing and Distribution, Warehousing & Freight sectors. These sectors have evidently suffered a major slump in demand for 2009, possibly as a result of retrenchment. The recession has put great pressure on the online labour market in South Africa.

Kris Jarzebowski, CEO of CareerJunction encourages companies to do more with less:

ìSouth Africa is facing an economic slump. Businesses should consider rethinking their recruitment and retention strategies, in an attempt to save costs. Thus, they should make a conscious effort to facilitate the necessary training in order to up-skill existing staff as well as applying resources in a more creative, efficient manner.î

The latest CJI Executive Summary is available online and is free to download. Visit www.cji.co.za to download the latest Executive Summary.