Job prospects - some conflicting figures

He says the seasonal outlook for jobs in the fourth quarter is three percent higher and Winn points out that for the past four quarters, the outlook for an increase in the number of jobs has been positive.

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, 9% of employers are expecting employee levels to increase while 7% thought there would be a loss of jobs and 83% expected that the workforce numbers were unlikely to change.

It says that employers in Gauteng are the most positive and expect to increase jobs by about 5% in the next three months. Employers in the Eastern and Western Cape forecast that the number of jobs would rise by about 3% but there would also be payroll gains for existing workers.

Levels of uncertainty, damaging - Winn

Winn says that the levels of uncertainty in various sectors including wholesale, retail, municipal, mining and energy are damaging employment prospects although employers in eight of ten industry sectors were positive that hiring levels would rise.

The statistics seem to carry some conflicting figures though. For instance while 83% of employers do not expect the number of jobs to increase, those in the wholesale and retail trade are apparently "cautiously optimistic" in their outlook at +9%.

Some job gains are expected in the mining and quarrying sectors and the transport, storage and communication sectors also reflecting a more optimistic outlook of +8%.

Referring to international trends, Winn says that employers in India, China and Brazil - South Africa's partners in Brics - expected hiring levels to decline in the next three months. He says that in 21 countries, of the 39 surveyed, the outlook for jobs remained bleak.

View the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.