Remote job opportunities in South Africa have reached their highest level on record — and the fastest growth is no longer happening in the technology sector, where the trend began, but among bookkeepers, admin clerks, recruiters and marketers.

That’s according to job platform Pnet’s latest Job Market Trends Report, which shows remote employment opportunities in the first half of 2026 were 28% higher than a year earlier, and 41% higher than two years ago.

IT remains the largest source of remote roles — up 44% over two years, led by software development, systems administration and IT project management — but the striking numbers are elsewhere:

Remote opportunities in finance have more than quadrupled in two years, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors for flexible employment;
Marketing and design & media roles have both doubled since 2024; and
Strong growth in business and management, sales and admin, and office and support rounds out a picture of remote work spreading into the administrative core of the economy.

Among the occupations now trending remote are financial accountants, bookkeepers, admin clerks, personal assistants, customer support agents, sales reps and even recruitment staff.

“Remote work is no longer simply an employee benefit reserved for the technology sector,” Pnet said, describing it instead as “a strategic recruitment tool” for accessing wider talent pools and scarce skills.

The road here was not a straight line. Remote opportunities surged in the pandemic era before contracting visibly through 2023 and 2024 as return-to-office mandates took hold. Pnet’s data suggests the market appears to have only now surpassed its Covid-era peak, making this less a story of relentless growth than of remote work’s second wind.

Against the tide

Not everything is trending up, either: within IT, Pnet’s occupation-level data shows remote opportunities in data analysis/data warehousing and technical architecture are declining — the only categories in the report moving against the tide.

And some employers are pulling in the opposite direction entirely: JSE-listed technology group iOCO scrapped work from home altogether earlier this year, saying the move boosted productivity.

A breakdown of the occupations and job sectors with the mostremote job opportunities. Source: Pnet — A breakdown of the occupations and job sectors with the most
remote job opportunities. Source: Pnet

The report, based on data from Stepstone Group South Africa’s recruitment platforms and their more than eight million registered users, also shows overall hiring activity rose 10% month on month in June, though it was flat year on year. — © 2026 NewsCentral Media