Forget the doom talk: AI jobs in South Africa are growing fast. Pnet’s latest Job Market Trends Report shows demand for AI-related skills jumped 77% year‑on‑year when comparing the first half of 2024 with the first half of 2025. Since 2019, demand has surged by 352%. These findings point to a market that is creating work for people who can use, build or manage AI.
Where the Demand Sits
Gauteng accounts for the lion’s share of AI hiring at 58% of advertised roles, with the Western Cape at 24%. There are also limited remote options: 2% of AI vacancies are listed as work‑from‑home, while 3% target international roles. This confirms that most AI jobs in South Africa cluster around the country’s two biggest economic hubs.
Not Just for Techies
This wave isn’t confined to software teams. Pnet’s analysis highlights growing demand for AI skills in traditional roles, from marketers and financial clerks to content creators. Employers increasingly prize general AI tool competency, plus hands‑on fluency with automation platforms like Zapier and generative tools such as ChatGPT. In parallel, specialist roles remain hot: AI software developers, data scientists, data engineers and machine‑learning engineers lead the pack. Together, these shifts show how AI jobs in South Africa now cut across functions.
What it Means for Jobseekers
“AI is no longer confined to specialist positions,” says Pnet head of data Anja Bates.
AI appears to be creating new opportunities rather than displacing workers, though some junior roles—such as administrative and legal assistants—face automation risk. Early‑career professionals can still benefit: used well, generative AI helps people learn faster and take on more responsibility sooner. If you want to compete for AI jobs in South Africa, start by building practical capability with the tools employers mention most and stack that on top of your core field.
