Ringier One Africa Media, the leading digital classifieds group in Sub-Saharan Africa, has today released three new labour market reports that shed more light on the effects of the COVID-19 on the African jobs market. The reports also reveal transactional sales roles as the most in-demand jobs across Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, and provides other insights and analysis that will help employers and jobseekers across the continent to navigate the new employment landscape.

With job cuts, furlough extensions and new working habits developing across the continent, many employers and jobseekers are looking for guidelines to help them understand where opportunities are available and how to prepare for the future of work. The Impact of COVID-19 Job Reports, which were compiled by Jobberman (Ghana and Nigeria) and BrighterMonday (Kenya), explore factors such as trending industries/sectors, trending roles, trending skills, trending salaries/benefits, major trends caused by COVID-19 and job market trends and forecasts for Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.

The reports are based on information from the databases of the jobs platforms – with more than 24 million combined job applications and more than 100,000 registered employers – external research and insight from external business leaders.

According to the reports, Sales roles in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya are the most sought-after, with 15%, 4% and 13% of job postings in each market respectively between January and August 2020. IT & Telecoms was the top industry with the most job postings in Ghana and Nigeria, 12% and 16% respectively, while the Government had the most job postings in Kenya with 15%. Customer Service & Support was the most declining job function in Ghana and Nigeria, with 2% and 5% respectively and Management & Business Development was the most declining job function in Kenya with 4%. Companies in all three countries are hiring more professionals with Mid-level experience to fill their hiring activities than any other experience level, although not as much as they did last year.

Despite a decline in hiring in some industries, the reports predict a rise in demand for certain skills post-COVID as companies prepare to address the challenges brought about by the pandemic. The reports predict that hard skills such as digital and coding skills, data analytics and literacy and problem solving skills, as well as soft skills such as adaptability and agility, emotional intelligence and critical thinking are the skills companies are hiring for right now.

There is also a change in how employers view compensation with mental health and wellness benefits, flex pay and childcare support more prominent in compensation packages. Virtual recruitment, remote working and the acceleration of technology adoption are some of the other major trends caused by COVID-19.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Hilda Kragha, Managing Director of ROAM Africa Jobs, said, “these reports not only highlights the impact of the pandemic, but also serves as a guide for all employers to assess how they deal with change. The pandemic has undoubtedly caused a number of challenges, but some of the changes it has brought are quite exciting, because they offer the potential for dynamic transformations. As we assess and plan for the future, business leaders, HR practitioners and policymakers will have to work together to develop effective solutions that will make them better equipped for the future and create a better workplace for both employers and employees”.

The new reports, The BrighterMonday Kenya Impact of COVID-19 Jobs Report, The Jobberman Ghana Impact of COVID-19 Jobs Report and The Jobberman Nigeria Impact of COVID-19 Jobs Report will all soon be available to download on the ROAM Africa website.