South African employees have little to no intention to hire new employees during the second quarter of 2020, recruitment solutions company ManpowerGroup has found.
Its latest Employment Outlook Survey shows that about 8% of employers expect to increase salaries, while 5% expect to decrease salaries and 85% expect to make no changes to remuneration.
ManpowerGroup says the overall outlook for South Africa stands at +2%, taking into account seasonal variation, which is unchanged from the prior quarter.
Hiring plans are also stable compared with the prior quarter, but declined by three percentage points compared with the second quarter of last year.
“As we enter into the second quarter of 2020, the South African economy continues to be affected by subdued economic growth and a sluggish growth outlook. Local businesses remain concerned about policy uncertainty, high unemployment rates and continued load-shedding.
“These factors are causing employers to proceed cautiously when it comes to their spending and hiring strategies. Further, while it is too early to predict the potential impact of Covid-19 virus on global hiring, the reality today is that unemployment remains low in many markets and organisations globally are still struggling to find people with the right skills,” comments ManpowerGroup South Africa MD Lyndy van den Barselaar.
Further, ManpowerGroup finds that the strongest hiring pace will be in the manufacturing sector, where the net employment outlook stands at +7%, while the construction sector indicates a likelihood of trimming payrolls.
The strongest labour market is anticipated by employers in KwaZulu-Natal, with a reported net employment outlook of +7%, while the Free State reported downbeat hiring prospects with an outlook of -4%.